DIY Glass Table Lamp Tutorial

You might remember my DIY lamp shades and repainted lamp base I completed two years ago. I’ve been contemplating a different style lamp for a few months and am excited today to show you what I came up with! In this DIY glass table lamp tutorial you will learn how to drill through glass, how to deconstruct a hanging light cord to be used for lamp wiring, and how to attach an IKEA lamp shade onto any lamp using the bulb!

[the_ad_placement id=”middle-of-post”]

To get started drilling through glass, you need the right kind of drill bit. I purchased a set of diamond crusted drill bits from Ebay for only $5 (free shipping)! The catch was that I had to wait 5 weeks for delivery…

Drilling Through Glass

While I did create a video tutorial you can see below, the basic concept here is to drill slow and steady while keeping your drill from getting overheated. The trick is to drill in water. I created a circle with play-doh and poured water into it, switching the water frequently as I drilled.

After a lot of back and forth, I finally broke through the glass and had a hole for my lamp cord! The lamp hardware I am using for this lamp is HEMMA from Ikea. They are meant to be for hanging ceiling lamps, but I found this tutorial for deconstructing them on Youtube. I actually bought two of these for $5 off Craigslist a couple years ago. They have been waiting for the right project…

DIY Glass Table Lamp Tutorial

[the_ad_placement id=”middle-of-post”]

To attach the shade, I bought two of these light bulb clamps from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. This was the best price I could find anywhere online for this adapter. You could also just buy a uno-fit lamp shade if you were doing this project. However, I had Ikea drum lamp shades I had picked up at my local Habitat for Humanity (for $2!) a year ago that I planned to use. Since the lamp shades have a typical metal assembly on top that is meant for a finial and harp, I needed the light bulb adapter to save the day!

Costs + Materials

Since I already acquired many of these items for cheap in the past, my materials for this DIY were overall inexpensive.

[the_ad_placement id=”middle-of-post”]

Two glass barrel jars from Anchor Hocking (purchased in the food storage section of Walmart) = $23
Two LED lightbulbs from Ikea = $2
Two HEMMA light cords originally from Ikea, found for cheap on Craigslist = $5
Two drum lamp shades originally from Ikea, found for cheap at Habitat for Humanity = $4
Diamond crusted drill bits, bought on Ebay for cheap = $5
Two light bulb adapters for shades from Bed, Bath, and Beyond = $6

I have two new lamps for my living room that cost me a total of only $45!
Compared to this similar set on Amazon, I got a steal of a deal!

I hope you enjoyed my DIY glass table lamp tutorial! Please share the love and pin!

One more BIG favor to ask – if you haven’t already PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL. Youtube is going to take away many of my channel privileges this week unless I reach 1,000 subscribers. Even if you don’t use Youtube much, you can subscribe with just your email and it would really help me out! Thank you!