Shine a Little Light (Re-Wiring a Lamp)
As most of you know, I don’t mess with electricity. In fact, recently, I paid an electrician to repair my doorbell (simple repair, expensive bill). But in my FOREVER project–my home office update–I realized I needed new lighting. Most DIY/home shows tell you how easy it is to make your own lamp, so I thought I’d try it. I had one task lamp with a broken socket, and one wooden coat rack. So, two new lamps!
It didn’t work out that way, but what DID work out wasn’t hard to complete.
What didn’t work: The coatrack
My idea was to make a floor lamp with an old coatrack as a lampstand and base. The top of the coatrack would be removed ( the part with the hangers on it) and the lamp portion added. But I quickly found out that wasn’t going to work: the lamp stand needs to be hollow or at least have a way to feed the cord so it goes through the base and down the lamp. This will keep the cord hidden or out of the way so it doesn’t fray. The coatrack is solid all the way through, except for some metal screw holes which help hold the coatrack together. I was not going to make a new floor lamp today.
What worked: The rewiring
My small task lamp had a socket on it that was broken. In order to fix it, I would need a new socket. A lamp making kit is great for upgrading an old lamp, especially when you are not sure exactly what you need or how to put it all together. This kit has the diagram and all the instructions needed for assembly.
A
fter taking off the wiring from the broken socket, I used it for the new socket. Because I knew the wire was not the issue, this was an easy way to reuse parts and not have to do extra work.
This also allowed me the ability to change this lamp shade to a harp finial style instead of the drum shade it had on it before. I love the new gray shade that I ended up finding.
I have some ideas on creating a new lamp, that I may try in the future. For now, i’m going to get a brighter shade for an existing lamp to fix the other home office lighting issue. What about you? Show us pictures of your DIY lamps in the comments!
