DIY glass vase lamp + shade

This is what we made on the weekend – a lamp out of a glass vase. It was so easy and you can do it too!

So, you can probably see that the glass bottom was a big vase. I knew that I wanted to use it somehow, but I could never find the right thing to put in it. I had been eyeing off similar glass lamps for a while, but I didn’t have the $ to spend! Some of them are quite pricey. This is when my creative brain started ticking……

You can see that a hole had to be drilled in the glass bottom, so I also needed to be prepared to lose the vase because chances are we could have cracked it easily… but I was determined to give it a go!

I bought a diamond glass drill bit – not a regular drill bit – it must be a diamond drill bit. Read the back before you buy it. It was $15.

Now the trick is to drill really really slow and have running water over it. We did it in the kitchen sink because our tap swivels. Plus I sat a face washer underneath it to stop it from moving around. My husband did the drilling and I did the easy part (hosing and taking photos!).

After about 15 minutes of slow drilling we finally went through the glass and there was no breakage or cracking. Hooray!

Next, we pulled an old lamp apart. I used the cord and fittings from a lamp I already had. The base was cracked, so I was only going to throw it out. OR, you can buy DIY lamp kits so I’ve been told. I didn’t search for these, but I am sure any good hardware/lighting store will have them. But I also think you could pick up an old lamp from a garage sale too!

My husband took the top off the old lamp (that meant unscrewing and undoing the wiring – he’s not an electrician, but he is very handy and it wasn’t rocket science).  You have to undo the top as you need to thread the cord through the glass hole, there is no other way. Then we threaded the cord up through the vase and the new hole and rewired it back together.

It doesn’t look very glamorous inside, but you can see how the shade is sitting on the glass. My husband suggested we could silicon it to the glass, but I don’t think it needs it as it’s quite stable.

And here she is! Whhhhaaaaala! I am very happy. Overall the lamp size is about 70cm tall. So it’s a pretty big size. I haven’t finished styling this area of my house, so never fear, it will probably be different next week! Ha!

I’ve be walking around the house visualising other vases as lamps now!

TIPS

• Make sure your drill bit says diamond glass cutting on the back
• If you aren’t confident in re-wiring the globe part, make sure you get someone who is qualified to do it.
• Make sure your vase is wide enough to fit your hand up it to pull the cord through. 
• You could pick up a cheap vase from the Reject Shop
• Buy a  new shade, or cover your own. This is a linen/natural shade. It cost me $17 from Bunnings.

There you go!

Who is going to make one?