Do You Have A Dark Corner? Light It Up!

Do you have a dark corner? Light up that dark corner with a DIY custom lamp. You’ll be surprised at the ease and the low cost.

If one were to read just a couple posts geared toward lighting, the common conclusion may be that I’m a little obsessed with lamps. Better yet, designing and creating my own from a vase, urn, or anything that would make for a cool-lookin lamp, and I’m all in to share and document the entire how-to process.

What gives, you may ask? Well, I’m a firm believer that there are many objects, if you will, that can be repurposed into a gorgeous lamp. A true statement piece. Though I’m a little tired of the saying – think outside of the box, true as it may be, I’d like to say if it has lighting appeal, then light it up.

I always find it interesting how much lighting effects our mood / psyche. I’m not sure we realize the role, but just the same, good lighting dictates moods, conversations and even feelings, right down to the temperature of the bulbs. (I happen to be a huge fan of dimmer switches, even on lamps.) Lamps are personal. They’re not like a small object where you grab and go; there’s true thought put into each one, before committing to buy. And if you have a shape in mind before you head out to the store, sometimes staying in that scope when shopping poses a challenge. That’s where designing and creating your own lamp becomes ever so important.

I’ve written about this type of lamp DIY before, and these posts never get old. I love to repurpose something into a lamp, whether it’s a glass cloche, or a globe-sized vase. And even then, I like to kick things up a notch with painting fabric lamp shades, adding trim, to covering shades with fabric. True to say, I love lighting design in all forms.

In my beloved garden house, the corner over by the sink was dark. I’m one that tends to work from the outer sides of a room to the center, and in the garden house was no exception. It needed a lamp in that corner to even the lighting out.

With a vase I found on the clearance shelf (admittingly buying it only because the price was at the crazy low price of $1.99) deemed to be my next DIY “from vase to base” scenario. I bought this lamp kit, and this lamp shade, and handed everything over to Sean to turn into a lamp.

He used a tile drill bit to drill a hole in the side of the vase for the cord to fit through; opened the lamp kit and attached and electrified per package directions, screwed in the light bulb and attached the shade.

The entire project took him 7 minutes.

Truthfully, I never really cared for this vessel as a vase, but now that the vase has become a base for a lamp, I love it. It’s perfect in this little corner of the garden house. And, truth be told, exactly what I had in mind yet couldn’t be found in a store.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again and again; if you have a vase, or a cloche or even some pipe that you think would make for a cool lookin lamp, then by all means, electrify it!! And too, who doesn’t love an inexpensive custom lamp?!

Take that vase and walk down Electric Avenue.

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