DIY MID CENTURY MODERN DESK LAMP
This year for Christmas I decided to make table lamps for my sisters! I’ve never made anything involving electricity before, and I didn’t really know how, but thankfully my dad is the king of all things circuits, wires, soldering, electricity, blah blah blah, and he was willing to help! After my dad helped me make the first lamp, I was basically able to make the second lamp on my own — giving me hope that I can make some more for my own home and hopefully explain the process well here.
I would recommend having some help from someone who knows what they’re doing if this is your first project — don’t just take my word on this step-by-step because I am not a professional and honestly don’t know very much about this! I still thought it would be worth it to share the process because it was easier than I expected. Since I had the help of a professional, we did a more complicated wiring design but here is a summary of the basic process for a simple DIY lamp:
Make/buy/assemble the main body of the lamp
Put the wire through the lamp body
Separate the two sides of the wire and screw them onto the socket
Add a plug to the end of the wire
Screw a lightbulb into the socket
You can find vintage bulbs, globe lamp shades and cage lamp shades at Home Depot! Then just choose a simple base from things you find for a good deal and use my favorite multi purpose glue to attach things.
I don’t feel like I’m quite experienced enough with this type of project to confidently teach someone else yet, but I share this all because it was all so much easier than I expected, and I do feel like making just one project taught me all the basics I need to know to make more on my own. So if you’ve ever had an interest in making your own lamps, I would watch some YouTube videos or ask some friends and try to learn, because you can totally do it!
If you’re not ready to give this project a try yet, here are a couple of other easier options for the untrained hand:
These simple pendants from Target are amazing — only $7.99, its all the wiring done for you, and it’s battery operated, so you can just make a fun base or design around it and hang it anywhere! Pretty much no risk involved here unless you cut the wire (don’t do that, haha). It comes in different colors too.
Here is basically the same thing, but it’s from Home Depot and you have to add your own bulb, and it plugs in (not battery operated) so you’ll feel more talented. Urban Outfitters has a cuter version of this too.
You can always use other types of battery operated lights, like these stick-on, color-changing LED strip lights.
Let me know if you try making your own lamp! I would love to see your pictures!