Tired of Your Boob Light? Here's What You Should Replace It With

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

Almost every renter has been confronted with the dreaded boob light. These tastefully nicknamed, flush mount light fixtures are a standard feature in many apartments that have received the "landlord special." This article was actually born from countless hours of staring at boob lights for the three years I've lived in my current place, and finally telling myself, "something needs to be done about those."

In fact, many of the other House Beautiful editors unfortunately have to deal with these infamous light fixtures in their own homes as well. It's not just us either—it's become a trend to hate on these bulbous lights via social media. Simply read the comments from the below Instagram post, and you'll see what we mean (and probably get a good laugh, too).

Looking at them from a design perspective while taking a second to ignore that they do indeed look like cartoonishly drawn appendages, it's still completely understandable why they're so disliked: They really aren't the best options when it comes to illuminating a space. A lot of times, the glass domes are frosted, which should simply help with the harshness of the light, but instead it often diffuses the bulb too much, making the room poorly lit. And if they're not frosted, the lighting becomes too harsh. "Lighting is, in my opinion, the most important thing you can change in a space to really make a difference," Lori Smyth, a residential developer and founder of Tulip Shades, says.

Unfortunately, it's not just renters who have to deal with these double-d cup light fixtures. Head to Zillow.com, and we guarantee you'll come across new builds filled with boob lights in no time. But despite their terrible approval ratings, house flippers and landlords keep coming back to these lights because they've historically been cheap to make.

Where Did the Boob Light Come From?

Before the rise of electrification in residential spaces in the late 19th century to early 20th century, regular homeowners and contractors of the time couldn't risk putting a gas fixture so close to the ceiling or a wall for fear of the entire room catching on fire. "There was this challenge of the light bulb emitting so much heat, so for that reason, it couldn't be encased in a glass bulb against a ceiling safely. It wasn't until lighting technology developed that the bulb became able to run cooler so that a shade covering it was actually a safe and efficient way to proceed with lighting," Emily Orr, associate curator and acting head of product design and decorative arts at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, explains.

Suddenly, flush mount light fixtures opened entirely new doors for designers to play with the focus and experience of a room because the shadows they were used to that came from candlelight were no longer an issue. "When you have either a candle or a gas fixture, the flame for the most part is being emitted upwards, and then you have the beaming effect of the shadow below on any kind of table surface. All of a sudden, if you have the addition of a light bulb and you can mount it to the ceiling or walls and set it behind a piece of glass, it will emit this beautiful diffused glow without any shadow," Orr says. "Suddenly, a designer has the agency to be able to create a fixture that can shift the direction of the beam."

What Is a Boob Light?

Although there isn't an exact date for when the boob light was created, Orr believes the shape became the standard because of its extremely simple design. "It can be easily replicated in solid or frosted glass, or it can be added to with any kind of additional decoration or coloration," she explains. The simple dome shape can be cast by the hundreds, allowing it to ship out faster than a light fixture with more ornamentation. (Note: Sources did not comment on whether or not the shape's similarity to the female anatomy played any part in its growing popularity, but it clearly didn't hurt.)

Why are Boob Lights Used Everywhere?

And as the saying goes: If it isn't broken, don't fix it. The boob light was created for the same reasons it is still so commonly found today. "I think it's just the cheapest possible solution for a landlord to stick a light on the ceiling. I'd be surprised if one in your apartment costs $19," David Calligeros, founder of Remains Lighting Company, says. "There are a few really good ones, and there are a lot of ubiquitous, ugly ones. I mean, it's also the materials and the finish—they're so commercially ubiquitous. It's the Home Depot, Lowe's kind of thing. The materials are ugly. The handling of the glass is blah. The finishes look super duper lacquered or like ugly brush nickel."

Jason Saft, founder of home staging company Staged to Sell, agrees: "I think a lot of people overlook [the lighting] and make the assumption that someone else will come in and change it. And where it gets complicated, is there's so much rental housing being built, and instead of doing something interesting and compelling that works, people are just using the cheapest, most readily available thing." He adds, "If you want immediate impact, there's two things you could do: You could change a room, and you can change out the overhead lighting, and that automatically modernizes the space, changes the look and feel of it."

Although it's annoying that boob lights persist despite mass disapproval, we're lucky enough to live in a time where replacing these less-than titillating light fixtures is relatively easy and can actually be done without touching the wiring at all.

Hazel Flush Mount

Ceiling Light Fixture

Semi-Flush Mount Ceiling Light

Flush Mount Ceiling Light Fixture

So, What Can I Replace My Boob Light With?

Before swapping out your boob light for a more attractive fixture, there are a few things to keep in mind. Ceiling height being a fairly important one. "If you've got the ceiling height, then you don't want a flush mount. You want a hanging pendant or chandelier or something that drops into the space deeper and is more expansive," Calligeros says. However, for a shorter ceiling, Saft suggests "a drum shade or something on a smaller scale that is not coming down from the ceiling."

The purpose of the room is important to keep in mind as well. Even if you have tall ceilings in your bedroom, you likely wouldn't want to install a huge, metal pendant light. "For the bedroom, I'll move away from glass shades. I usually like to look for something that has fabric and has a softness and warmth to it, and obviously going a little bit closer to the ceiling depending upon the walk space and flow of the room," Saft explains. It's in the dining room or entryway that he suggests using a fixture that's more dramatic and has multiple arms coming from it. Both Saft and Calligeros, however, believe the bedroom should always have light coming from different directions and would suggest floor lamps and table lamps to complete your lighting situation.

Before Staged to Sell replaced the boob light.

After Staged to Sell replaced the boob light.

If you're technologically inclined to fully replace your light fixture, no matter how many YouTube tutorials you watch, there are boob light replacements that don't require even removing the glass dome. "There's one company where I literally just got a delivery of last week called Tulip Shades," Saft says. He explains that part of what he doesn't love about replacing all these boob lights is the wasteful aspect, and he thinks "something like Tulip is so interesting because instead of ripping [the fixture] out and starting over, it's working with it and just trying to enhance it."

Smyth created Tulip Shades for that reason. She created a completely renter-friendly solution to hiding away the boob light that also impacts the entire aesthetic of the room without having to throw anything into the landfill. "We don't want to be haters of the boob lights: There are times and there are places that they are completely appropriate and they work," she says. "But there are other areas that, for example, in a bedroom or a living room where the lighting is just too harsh, in my opinion. And it doesn't really help your mood, it doesn't help you feel better."

She also brings up an important point: "What we're realizing is usually if somebody has one boob light, they have several because the builder has used them everywhere." One light fixture you actually enjoy looking at that fits in your space can be expensive enough to replace, but when you're looking at multiple, the total cost quickly rises. Adding in a Tulip Shade to mellow the light in your space and hide away your boob light is a more cost effective, less wasteful way to fix your lighting problem. Plus, installation is relatively easy: The ceiling mount is attached with tape, and the shade connects with magnets, making switching out your shades an easy task as well.

Is Replacing Your Boob Light in a Rental Space Worth It?

If you want to be as happy with your home as possible, we and every other expert we asked say "Yes." As mentioned above, the Tulip Shade is completely renter-friendly, but replacing your boob light is one of the least-obtrusive changes you can make in your home. "Without reference to whatever God-awful wiring might be in one's ceiling, a light fixture is pretty easy to change," Calligeros says. "They're usually mounted with either two screws directly to the junction box, and three minutes after you're up on the ladder, the fixture is down and in the recycling. Then the sky's the limit."

Saft even points out that you can easily store away your existing light fixture in the back of a closet or under your bed until it's time to move out. "I know so many people who have made many capital improvements in their apartments, and they kind of said to their landlord like, 'Hey, why don't you have your agent photograph the apartment the way I've styled it, and I guarantee it will rent for more money, and then you don't keep my security deposit,'" he adds. All in all, replacing your boob light is definitely worth it to make your space feel more like home. Below, we've attached some options you can replace your dome-shaped light fixture with to finally change the vibe of your boob-lit space.

Follow House Beautiful on Instagram and TikTok.

You Might Also Like

• 15 Home Bar Gifts Every Cocktail Enthusiast Will Appreciate

• 32 Low Light Indoor Plants That Can Survive in the Darkest Corners of Your Home

• These Are the 50 Best Paint Colors for Your Living Room