Beautiful homemade lamps from improvised materials

You can make a table lamp or pendant lamp yourself. And for this, a variety of materials are suitable: from metal pipes to paper. Before starting work, you need to read the step-by-step guides and choose the best option.

Lamp and its functions

A luminaire is a large lamp suspended from a ceiling or wall. There are also floor, table and other designs. The main function of the lamp is to illuminate the house, but now a decorative one has also been added to it. The lamp becomes part of the interior, the lighting device can be inconspicuous, or it can become a central element.

The lamp helps to complete the atmosphere.

In addition to the installation method, the luminaires differ in size, number of lamps, design solutions and materials used.It is important to pay attention to all this not only when choosing in a store, but also when working with a lamp with your own hands.

Material Options

For homemade products, it is important to choose what material the lamp will be made of and prepare it in advance. There are several options:

1. Metal. The characteristics of the metal are high strength, the possibility of coloring and ease of maintenance. The disadvantage is that it is difficult to work with metal without special equipment. Therefore, it is better to use certain designs, such as steel tubes.
   Metal in loft style.
2. Glass. It looks beautiful, is in different colors and shapes, but quite fragile. You need to work with it carefully, and it will not work to make the lamp completely out of glass, you will have to combine it with other materials. Another option is to use glass bottles or jars.
3. Wood. Universal eco-friendly material. For a chandelier, you can make a structure from rails, a base from one or more boards, a lamp in the shape of a cart wheel, or simply use branches.
   Chandelier in the shape of a wagon wheel.
4. Concrete. Sturdy, heavy, but unusual option. Concrete makes excellent chandeliers for an industrial style in an apartment or house. It is important to take care of the reliability of fastening.
   Concrete balls will look interesting in the kitchen.
5. Plastic. The material from which anything is made, and then homemade craftsmen create original designs from all this. For lamps, plastic bottles, cups, spoons and much more are used.
6. Paper. A cheap material that does not have high strength, but it can be used to make an excellent body for a bedside lamp or pendant chandelier. Paper is sold in different colors, it can be used to make a variety of shapes.

9 step-by-step instructions for homemade lighting

Made of plastic

Almost any plastic can be suitable for homemade products: disposable tableware, water pipes, children's toys. One of the simplest ways with a beautiful result is to use a bottle and disposable spoons. The result is a design that is somewhat reminiscent of a cone.

Manufacturing:

1. First you need to prepare tools and materials. You will need plastic spoons, a 4-6 liter water bottle, a stationery knife, a glue gun and scissors.
2. Using scissors, cut off the tops of disposable spoons.
3. From the bottle you need to remove the labels, cut off the bottom. Then, starting from the bottom - up, glue the petals from the spoons.
4. When gluing the first row, it is important that they are on the same level.
5. Subsequent rows must be glued with an overlap, but with an offset, so that the next petal is located between the two previous ones.
6. After all the rows are in place, you still need to make a small ring of spoons, it is glued to the top of the structure in order to cover the neck of the bottle.
7. In the bottle cap, you need to make a hole for the wire with a cartridge, seal them.
8. The result is an original chandelier that can be used as a night light.

When using these materials, it is important to choose the right light bulb. In combination with plastic, only those lighting elements that do not heat up can work. An LED light would be a great option.

From paper

Homemade lamps are often made using paper. An important advantage is that such a product will cost quite inexpensively, and the work will not take much time. But there are nuances: paper lamps cannot be used with incandescent lamps, they are also not suitable for kitchen or bathroombecause moisture damages the material.

Walkthrough:

1. First you need to prepare everything. You need scissors, compasses, paper clips, glue, paper and fishing line. Additionally, yarn may be required to decorate the wire. A cartridge with a wire and a lamp are also needed.
2. On paper, it is necessary to draw semicircles of different diameters using a compass. Their width will be 1 cm. Then all these strips need to be cut out. Pieces 3-5 cm long are cut from the strips.
3. Then these strips are folded into dome-shaped circles, fastened together by 4-5 pieces.
4. In this way, you need to glue until the lamp body comes out with a free space in the middle for a light bulb. For better fixation, the petals are temporarily fixed with paper clips, which will then need to be removed.
5. You can wrap the connection cable with yarn, this will allow it to become part of the decorative composition.
6. The lightness of the design makes it easy to make a lamp holder. It will require a paper clip that unbends into a triangle and a fishing line to fix this paper clip in the middle of the hole in the lamp.
   This lamp scheme is called "Coral Inspiration". Perfect for a bedroom or kids room.

Rice paper variant with many details

Making a chandelier out of lots of rice paper circles is another great idea:

1. First you need to make a base of wire.
2. With the help of an iron, rice paper is leveled, and then a lot of circles are cut from it with a special tool.
3. On a sewing machine, the circles are stitched together, making strips of the same length.
4. These strips are attached to a wire base.
5. The result is a beautiful lamp.

From metal pipes and tubes

Metal pipes and connecting elements allow you to make unusual lamps of bizarre shapes.

brass loft style

To work, you will need 5 pear-shaped bulbs, brass tubes, fittings, hinges, cartridges, electrical wire, a screwdriver.

Instruction:

1. First you need to make the wiring, for this the wires are connected to the cartridges, passed through the tube, short and long brass tubes are connected with the help of hinges.
2. At the second stage, the “tentacles” of the chandelier are screwed into the fitting, the wires are connected to each other, the main wire passes through a long tube on which the lamp is suspended.
3. After fixing to the ceiling, it remains only to screw in the light bulbs and check the performance.

Bedside wall lamp

Another good option for a loft-style bedroom. For such a lamp, you will need a small lantern with a grill, plumbing nipples, metal flanges, a square, screws.

Elements for manufacturing.

Assembly steps:

1. A steel flange is attached to the cartridge of the old lamp.
2. The remaining elements are successively screwed to the flange, the wire is led out through the opening of the tee.
3. The flange is fixed in the wall with screws.

The wire from such a lamp can be hidden behind a bed or bedside table.

concrete lamps

Designer chandeliers made of concrete in one way, the shape of the product may differ. Therefore, the instruction can be called universal. For work, you will need a form (in a particular case, this is an old lampshade), cement material for modeling, film, emery stone:

1. According to the instructions indicated on the packaging of the modeling mixture, concrete is diluted.
2. The resulting mixture is gently smeared on the inside of the mold.
3. After applying the composition, the form is covered with a plastic bag.You have to wait for it to dry. Then there is demolition.
4. Using an emery stone, grind all the edges and the inside of the lamp.
5. Then you should prepare a structure with a cartridge, wire and a small metal cover.

Other concrete products can be made according to similar instructions. The selection of the form depends on the imagination and available improvised materials.

For example, a scrap of an old plastic vase will serve as an excellent base for a loft-style lamp.

From glass

Glass is difficult to work with, but you can create interesting compositions from improvised glass materials. It can be a composition of bottles, pendants with cans. These elements can also become the basis for table lamps.

It is possible to use many small glass elements imitating crystal. Glasses can become table or wall lamps. Additional decor is created by gluing paper figures or painting with watercolors.

bottle chandelier

The easiest way is to make a chandelier from several bottles. In addition to them, you will also need a glass cutter, sandpaper, a screwdriver, a cartridge with a wire and a lamp. Wire can be used for decoration.

Important! Protective gloves and goggles are required when working with glass. This will protect against cuts and sharp fragments in the eyes.

1. First, the bottles must be thoroughly cleaned of all labels, glue residues.
2. The bottle is fixed in the cutter, the cutting element is set at the desired level. The product must be rotated slowly.
3. Then the bottle needs to be arranged with a contrast shower, exposing it to the influence of either cold or hot water.
4. With the help of sandpaper, irregularities are removed at the cut point.
5. Inside you need to insert a cartridge with a wire, you can decorate the bottle with a dark wire.
6. Later, the whole composition is attached to the ceiling in the chosen way.

This is a variant of the chandelier, where all the bottles are suspended and are, in fact, separate elements. An alternative way is to create a wooden base, where the bottles will not be suspended, but fixed.

It’s even easier to make a chandelier out of cans, you don’t even have to cut them, you just need to make holes for the wires in the lid.

Read also

7 ideas for making lamps from bottles

 

For children's room

Many children are afraid to sleep in the dark and need at least a small night light in their room. An original approach to completing tasks will provide not only a lighting function, but will also decorate the room.

cloud over the bed

A simple lighting option that requires a fiberboard sheet, corner brackets, fasteners, paper, scissors, a jigsaw and a cartridge with wire.

1. A sheet of paper will become a drawing, a cloud is drawn and cut out on it, which will then become a template for fiberboard.
2. Using a jigsaw, a figure is cut out of solid material.
3. The front side is painted in white, blue or any other light, and brackets are attached to the back to fix the lamp and mount it on the wall.
4. The reverse bracket is attached to the wall, bolts are used for connection.

The result will surprise not only the baby, but also all the guests, because such a lamp looks impressive.

Globe lamp

A lot of light will not break through the globe even from a powerful light bulb, so this lamp is suitable as night light. In addition to the globe itself, you will need a drill, glue, a lamp, a cartridge.

1. First you need to remove the globe from the stand and cut it in half.
2. At the top, measure and make a hole for the cartridge.
3. Attach the second half with glue Moment.

If you have a lot of old small globes and planet models, you can create an interesting space composition.

Interesting ideas for crafts

Material for a chandelier or wall lamp can become anything. Interesting shapes come from tree, concrete, plumbing pipes, paper and glass. You can also use old items - kitchen graters, children's toys, dishes, a gas cylinder.

At the end of the video selection of 19 ideas for homemade lamps.