Stacy Risenmay

Do-it-yourself projects and Home Decor

My scrap wood lamp with hand painted shade

By 118 Comments

YEAH! My project that I have been so excited about is finally done!!! I have wanted a lamp in my family room for so long. There are only two lights in the ceiling since my house is so old. I really wanted an antique bridge lamp like I have in my bedroom but they have tiny bases and tip very easily. Not exactly kid friendly. So I decided to make one so I could control the size of the base and make it fit my style. And if I save (a ton) of money that would be great too!

**UPDATE**  Here are a couple of pictures in the day light :) A little better.

The first thing I did was lightly pencil a design onto the lamp shade. I am slightly obsessed with paisley so that is what I chose.
****Update**** I need to clarify something that until someone asked me for the pattern I used, I didn’t realize that I hadn’t explain very well. I didn’t use a pattern. I made up the paisley design as I went. I erased if I didn’t like it. Paisley is easy because anything goes. There is no wrong way. If it looks like a strange amoeba thing, you are good to go!

I used Deco Art paint to paint on the design. Usually when I paint on fabric I use a fabric paint medium. But since this won’t be thrown in the washing machine, I skipped on the medium.

I used a small pointed brush. I can do this pretty quickly. I broke it up into 3 night so I wouldn’t get sick of it. I watched a couple TV shows each night and painted. I enjoy it. If you don’t want to hand paint your shade you can by all means cover your shade in fabric. A little spray adhesive or modpodge and your set.

Now for the base. I had my husband gather up all my scrap pieces of wood from past projects and put them in the basement. My garage is freezing and I am a wuss. I covered everything in the unfinished  part of our basement and turned it into my winter workshop. I cut all the wood with my miter saw. I didn’t even measure. I just grabbed it and cut random sizes. I know, I know. You are totally diggin’ my outfit. Sorry ladies. It is completely custom and takes years to make.

As I was cutting I stacked them up to make sure I was cutting enough to get the height I wanted.

When they were all cut, I sanded the heck out of them. I wanted all the edges and corners to be smooth. I have kids whose heads seem to be magnetically drawn to sharp edges.

I used a bore bit (3/4 inch) to make holes in the center of each one. Again, I did not measure. Great huh? That is probably why I like this project so much.I put the piece I was drilling on top of a piece that would not be used for the lamp.

I did not want the cord coming out of a hole in the very bottom piece or else the lamp would wobble. So I did not drill a hole in the very bottom board. I took the second the last board and drilled a hole on the side that went all the way through until it met up with the center hole. You will get a better idea of what I am talking about when you see me put the cord through this hole a little later. All you need to understand now is that I am a genius for thinking that up.

Here are all the pieces to my lamp puzzle!

Then I stained them all a dark walnut. This is right after I stained them. The stain sinks into the wood slowly. It ended up being lighter than this. I like dark stain for many reasons and one of them is that it hides imperfections quite well. Since this was all scrap wood, there were definitely imperfections!

Time to assemble! I used Gorilla wood glue on the bottom of the board and then added it to the base.

I nail gunned it so it would stay in place while the glue dried. Also, I just like any excuse to pull out my favorite tool :)

Then I strung the cord through.

After that it is pretty much like you are stringing giant beads onto a string. Glue, string it on, nail once or twice and repeat. Now, I need to point out that some of the chunks of wood were too thick to nail. But the glue when dry will be strong enough. I didn’t worry about it. I figured that it was better to have most of them held in place than none of them. I literally just grabbed and stuck it on, then grabbed another. No rhyme or reason. I have found that if you want a truly random look that it is best to make it truly random. Because of that and not measuring anything, this was an EASY project.

Sorry this is a little dark. But it is soooo much prettier in real life. I hope I get better pics in the morning.

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  1. Ummm, I am speechless… I love it so so so much! Seriously I want one! Wow! You know I wanted to meet you the other day, at Jen's cookie party, maybe next time :). I love being your first comment :)

    Reply

  3. Sarah you are so sweet! Did you not go? I was late and thought maybe I missed you because of that. Definitely next time :)

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  7. OMGOSH… truly one of the best DIY projects I've ever seen!!! I NEEEEED one! Can't wait to see if I can pull one off.

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  10. I'm super impressed with this lamp! What a fabulous idea! and you are remarkably GREAT at drawing and painting pasiley! Best of luck to you!

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  16. The stacked scrap wood is such a good idea. As for tea staining; I have seen it come out fantastic but more times it's a flop. I find I want people to know I actually went to the trouble of tea staining so I put too much on. It's subtle and sometimes just looks like a cream shade after….

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  18. That looks amazing! I wish I had time and the patience to sit and paint details like that. Oh wait..I can't draw. Smile.

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  20. I am head over heels in love with this, totally and completely gorgeous! I personally (as much as I love tea stained things) would not stain that shade, it's too beautiful as it is. I entered several projects in that DIY party and thought I had a pretty good chance until I saw this! If you don't win I'll be shocked. GORGEOUS.

    As a result, I have featured you on Craft Gossip this morning
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/scrap-wood-lamp-with-hand-painted-shade/

    If you would like a "featured by" button, you can grab one here!
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/

    Reply

  22. Wow! I'm impressed. It's very unique! I love the lampshade and can't believe you hand painted it! I'm a little jealous of your steady hand! Great job!

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  23. LOVE IT, how flippin awesome, and I LOVE the paisley design you painted. Good job, and good luck, hope you win.

    Bella :)

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  25. Love this!!! You have inspired me to make my own lamp for my crafting area :) We have tons of scrap wood! Great job :)

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  26. So love the shade! Great job hand painting! Wow! The base is quite extraordinary! Love it! I'm hoping for a nail gun this Christmas. Cross your fingers! ;)

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  29. This is so awesome! I'm looking for handmade ideas to use for my baby's room and now I want to make one of these for him! :) Great job, thanks for sharing! :)

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  30. I am so in love with this lamp. I want one! Thanks for linking up to the DIY Club. I am a follower here now!
    Holly
    504 Main
    DIY Club

    Reply

  34. This is mind- blowing. WHOW will not do it any justice… You could sell them for some serious bucks, every house should have one of those lamps. Starting with mine.

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  41. Utah State! Hey Aggies all the way! Go Aggies! go Aggies! hey Hey Hey!

    I'm totally inpsired to make my own lamp now. I love this!

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  46. You are so clever! What a great idea. I totally think you should tea stain the shade. I've done it. Great results. Tea, sponge brush and you're good to go! Thanks for the great tutorial!

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  47. I've seen a picture of this throughout blog land but I hadn't realized that you painted the shade as well! As if the base wasn't awesome enough!! I love this lamp.

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  49. For the flippin' love – that is so stinkin' cute!!! My daughter totally flipped for it too. We're gonna have a Mom/Daughte day and attempt to make something like it. Could we get you to post your paisley so we can copy them – PLEASE & THANK YOU!!! I can't draw a stick man with a ruler.

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  50. I just made it up as I went. I didn't use a pattern. I drew it on the shade lightly enough I didn't like a certain paisley I drew, I could erase it. If you want, you could practice on a paper first.

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  57. Love the lamp & the shade!

    The lamp base is so versatile! Each of the wood blocks could be painted different shades of a particular color to match a room. Cubes of wood would look great as well!

    Very creative & very clever!

    And I probably wouldn't tea stain the lamp shade…I don't think the colors of the paisley would pop as nicely on the tea-stained shade.

    Great work!

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  64. At first glance I thought your shade was from Ikea. Amazing that you painted on all that gorgeous detail. Fantastic tutorial and uber creative project!

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  71. Wow…I love to see a GIRL using power tools…see guys, like football it's not just for men! lol…but really, I have wantd to make a lamp out of some "extra" items I have, but scared of the wiring process…thanks for sharing this tutorial!

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  73. I just found your blog, but I'm loving all the projects. House fix-ups, felt faces, scrap wood, and another mom who knows how to use a miter saw! What could be better? Oh, wait– a USU sweatshirt. Go Aggies!!! I love it!

    I love this lamp. I think I'll make one for my sister, too. She just bought a house, so this would make a good house warming gift.

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  76. THis is soooo neat I can't wait to try it… but I don't have a nail gun I might have to use a bit more muscle driving nails.

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  78. love it, love it, love it. I have the same while boring lamp shape, and un-matching base, now I know what to do. thanks for the inspiration.

    but I do have a question, how do you install the top part where connect with the light bulb? and the plug to the outlet? hehe… I can’t wait to make my own.

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  80. Can I please just tell you how much I love this lamp?? It is already on my to do list! Cheap and easy, my 2 favorite things in a project. :)

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  81. Goodness I LOVE that lamp! And I think we have the same sofa. I just found your blog and i already love it. I am a new follower.

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  84. Fantastic! I’m over from Vintage Revival too, but I laughed at the comment right above mine. I just pinned this before commenting. Super creative and beautiful! Way to go!

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  85. Your lamp is amazing! I have so many little pieces of scrap wood, I totally want to do this project! Thanks for the tutorial! -Chessa

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  87. thanks for the tutorial. this is amazing. loved every minute of it and can’t wait to make one. you are a crafty crafty lady.

    Reply

  89. LOVE IT~!~!~!

    I am kinda stumped though… I may be asking silly question but how did you do the lamp part of this whole thing… I mean the wiring! I would have loved to see that part! I have never thought to wire my own lamp up and would love to replicate this in short and tall versions! How did you do it?!

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  92. Um, this is absolutely AMAZING!!! I’ve been gathering log pieces to do something similar, but am at a loss of how to actually get a lamp to work. What cord, “lamp guts” did you use and where did you purchase them? LOVE your blog!

    Reply

  96. I know this is an old post…I just found you via Vintage Revivals, and I was JUST talking to my husband about how I could make my own chunky floor lamp and then HERE IS YOUR POST about how you did it! I love your blog! Thanks so much for this great post!

    Reply

  97. Hi Stacy! I just found your blog through apartment therapy this week and it’s been so much fun reading about some of your projects! I loove this lamp idea, it has so many gorgeous elements – chunky wood, dark stain, casual elegance, and – wow – handpainting! :) I had one question I was hoping you could answer although I know this post is from awhile ago :| Where did you get a long enough lamp cord? Did you take apart an old lamp? Thanks in advance if you have a chance to answer this! :)

    Reply

  101. Wow! What an amazing idea! I have piles upon piles of scrap wood that I just can’t bring myself to part with. You have got the gears spinning in my head with all sorts of new ideas. Thanks for sharing this beautiful lamp!

    Reply

  102. I have the same question some others have… Coul you post or email me about how you did the wiring please! I would make this right now if I knew how to do the wiring. Please please post thanks :)) <3 this is so amazing

    Reply

  103. Hi, Neat post. There’s an issue with your website in internet explorer,
    would check this? IE nonetheless is the marketplace chief and a huge section of folks will leave out your great writing due to this problem.

    Reply

  104. You gave me a great idea to use scrap wood.
    Could you also please share the details on how you attached the lamp shade and the bulb to the stand.

    Reply

  105. What a great idea. We have lots of scrap wood but didn’t know what to use it for. Now I know. Love your lamp and the idea. THANKS!

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  106. I know it’s several years later, but I would like to know how thin you had to get the acrylic in order to maintain the color when the light is on. I am getting ready to paint a lampshade, and I need the colors to stay mostly true when the light is on.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  4. […] is HAND painted! Holy moly. Stacy from Not Just a Housewife is one talented chica. Check out her lamp tutorial. She won’t disappoint. I […]

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  5. […] look {As in I was confident I could build something}. This was the first post that got me hooked: “Scrap wood lamp with hand painted shade” Do I need to say more? I Just Love this Girl! One more thing, Her blog Name is the best! I love […]

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