diy: industrial wall lamp
our DIY industrial wall lamp in our dining nook
JR and I couldn’t find a lamp that met our needs for our new dining nook, so we made made one out of lighting parts we bought at Home Depot. The finished product is shown above, with the fabulous “F” that Karolyn gave us as a wedding present, and a starburst mirror that I bought a long time ago from west elm.
seven white lightbulb socket splitters, taped and ready to spraypaint
spraypainting seven socket splitters silver. say that six times fast! also shown: the base.
let the paint dry for a couple of hours
the splitters were dry long before the base was
assemble the bulb splitters into a configuration that is pleasing to you
screw in 25-watt bulbs
Here’s where I left out a step in photographing the process. JR took a dimmer plug and stripped the end, wrapping the wires around the screws on the back of the base. Tighten the screws to secure the wires. Attach the base to the wall with the cord coming out at the bottom. Screw the initial (center) splitter into the base, plug it in, and…
bask in the light of your new lamp!
12 comments
Hey, great documentation of the progress. This thing was super fun to make, and very easy. Everyone should have a lamp like this.
You guys are wacky and AWESOME. You’ve inspired me to change the light bulb that went out in our guest bathroom. (It’s romantic, yes, but also it’s a bathroom.)
YAY for inspiration! YOU CAN DO EET, LEE!!! ;)
(and I’m sure Karen will love you even more for changing the bathroom bulb. what’s not romantic about that?)
[...] get to see the whole transformation of our living/dining room firsthand! It all starts off with the DIY industrial chic wall lamp JR & I built for the dining nook. Share [...]
NICE. So creative!
Thanks, Stovall! Wait til you see the next project… ;)
Oh I wanna make one too!!! Love this!
Suh-weet guys, I love it! Great idea. Is there any concern over how many bulbs/watts to have, as to not overload your plug/switch?
Imelda – you should! It was fun, and you could do it in any color you want! Or each splitter could be a different color…
McD – yes, it says 660 watt max, and we got 25 watt bulbs because we couldn’t find any lower watt bulbs. We’ve got 200 watts on it right now (8 bulbs at 25w), and I’ve already bought 2 more splitters that I’d like to add in different places on each side for a more organic, asymmetrical feeling. That would total out at 300 watts for 12 bulbs, still way below the MAX rating, but the most I’m comfortable having on a homemade light fixture. We also only run it at 25-50% on the dimmer, because it provides tons of light and creates a modest amount of heat with all those bulbs. Good question!
Hold on there Ash, if we add 2 more splitters that will only be 10 bulbs, for a max of 250Watts.
Also, I wouldn’t push it past 250W. Splitters + tiny incandescent bulbs = heat. Also, it should have a proper wall-mount base which I am working on now.
If I can find some nice, warm, Dimmable LED bulbs I will install those. Of course, 10 LED bulbs x 10$ each is quite the add-on for a DIY 20$ wall lamp. But worth it I think. Stay tuned.
What’s with the weird diabolical red sunburny effect on JR?
Sue – The lamp is just that bright… I kid! No, I think he was a little flushed from working around the house & yard, plus I’m getting a weird lens-flare-ish reflection of the bulbs for some reason.
Leave a Comment