DIY Lamp Shade & Base

Do you remember when I painted those lamp shades an ombré teal? Well, I’m going to be honest with you, I never really loved them. I liked that they brought a little more teal color into my living room, but it wasn’t quite in the way I wanted. Plus, they didn’t really qualify as a true DIY lamp shade I’d always itched to make. Much like my hunt for the perfect entertainment center solution, the hunt for the perfect living room lamps dragged on. THEN, one day perusing Craigslist, I saw these.

They are outdated, no doubt. Nevertheless, inspiration struck! I decided to try and tackle a DIY lamp shade & base.

Spray Paint Lamp Base

First I removed the shades in order to spray paint the base. I used painters tape to protect the socket and cord. In the end, I did actually spray paint the cord because I read online it would work fine. However, I would not recommend this. The cord is now permanently sticky.

Next I began the painting process (in 25 degrees!). If you missed my article last week about how to spray paint in winter, be sure to check it out!

DIY Lamp Shade Tutorial

When the lamp bases were done, I began to make the lamp shades. I started with two 14″ wooden embroidery hoops I purchased at Crafts Direct. I realized I could use both the inner and outer circle of hoop if I just took apart the metal tightening hardware and bent it flat.

Next I cut a piece of poster board to the height I wanted the lamp shade (I think I did 11 inches?).

I used my hot glue gun to glue the poster board to the wood hoop, securing it with money clips along the way before the glue dried.

When I ran out of poster board, I just started another sheet, lined up as close as I could.

Then I repeated this process on the bottom of the poster board, gluing the second hoop into it. I used clear packaging tape across the seem between the two pieces of poster board. Next, I gathered some white metal coat hangers I had laying around to make a hanging mechanism on the inside.

I cut and bent the coat hangers into a shape like this. The hole in the (exact) middle will go over the lamp base where the top finial screws into.

The bent arms get wrapped around the wooden hoops using a pliers. I decided this process would be easier to do before the poster board was glued on when I got started on the second shade. Notice the second time I also glued both the top and bottom embroidery hoops on at the same time, ensuring the poster board stayed more parallel. Both ways worked, but I would suggest doing it in this order:

1. Attach wire hangers to the top embroidery hoop.
2. Glue poster board with hot glue to the top and bottom hoops at the same time, securing with money clips.
3. Cover shade in fabric and glue to the inside of the top and bottom hoops.

Now it came time to wrap my shades in fabric! First I ironed my silky white fabric I found on clearance at Walmart so that it was super flat.

Since I cannot sew, I used more hot glue to “hem” all the edges of the fabric so it wouldn’t fray.

Then I began covering the lamp shade with fabric by folding it over and gluing it to the exposed wood of the hoop on the inside part of the shade.

Does that make sense? This is a picture from when I had the top done.

The bottom I was sure to glue down completely covering the wood embroidery hoop because when you look into the shade as it sits on the lamp, you wouldn’t want to see the hoop. Be sure you’re only gluing to the hoop, not the poster board. Anything on the poster board will show through the shade when you turn the light on.

This is what the shade attached to the lamp base looks like.

The Lamp Makeover Reveal

Now that you know EXACTLY how these lamps were made, this is my DIY lamp shade & base!

Now that’s the pop of teal I was looking for!

They really change the look of the room!

You might wonder if it’s safe to use wood and poster board around a light bulb that heats up. Since I made shades that are 14″ in diameter, there’s tons of space between the flammable materials and the heat from the bulbs. I have not foreseen any issues with the design from the last month of use.

Plus, since the shades are much bigger than the teal ombré ones from before, they throw MUCH more light into our living room. At night, our room is now brighter and more welcoming.

Here’s the amazing before and after. A new DIY lamp shade & base that’s way more modern and colorful and stylish.

Here’s the quick breakdown of costs:

$20 Large lamps from Craigslist
$2.00 Two yards of clearance fabric
$3.79 Teal blue spray paint
$3.27 Spray primer
$6.00 Two 14″ wooden embroidery hoops
$0.66 Two poster boards

Items I already had:

Painters tape
Wire clothes hangers
Packaging tape
Hot glue gun & (a lot of) glue

Total for this project =

$35.72

If you’ve shopped around for large table lamps lately, you’ll know I got myself a steal. It’s hard to find ONE lamp base this size in the stores for $35.

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