How to make a floor lamp with your own hands, recently more and more people are interested. This is not only an opportunity to save the family budget, but also a good option to experiment, showing your creativity.
What is a floor lamp?
Floor or table lamp, often used in residential and office buildings, and sometimes on the street, is called a floor lamp. This is a kind of lamp, only on a high leg, in addition, complemented by a voluminous lampshade that covers the bulb. The diffused dim light does not hurt the eyes and contributes to a pleasant relaxation after a hard day. This feature allows you to widely use this kind of lighting for interior design, contributing to a cozy and unobtrusive atmosphere.
Do you think such a product is expensive, or can not find a suitable option? Learn to make stylish floor lamps with your own hands, and the version of the device from improvised materials will make the product exclusive, one and only of its kind.
We will figure out how to make a floor lamp with your own hands at home.
How to choose an option?
If we are talking about floor lamps, it is worth noting that there are so many such lighting fixtures that can not be counted. Prices for them range from 3,500 to 30,000 thousand rubles, but all of these options are united by one feature - the design.
Any floor lamp consists of three parts:
- coasters;
- lampshade;
- light bulbs with cable.
Further ingenuity and imagination come into play. Consider the example of designing a floor lamp with your own hands from what was found at home.
What will be required during the assembly?
For construction you will need:
- Wooden legs (you can take rake cuttings) or any other support options with an average length of up to 120 cm.
- Thick wire from 2 mm, can be taken thicker.
- Opaque fabric for lampshade. The choice of color depends on the interior design of the room, but black and white will be a win-win option.
- White thickened cord.
- Cable.
- Switch and plug for the lamp.
- Self-tapping screws.
- Lamp holder.
- Diode lamp (a white glow on 7 watts is suitable).
- Heat-resistant adhesive.
- Metal rod (can be taken from the magnetic shaft of the printer cartridge).
- Soldering iron and soldering acid.
- Clay "Second".
- White paint for metal and matte colorless varnish.
- Sewing machine or thread with a needle.
- Screwdriver.
- Insulating tape
- Shrink.
- Whatman.
- PVA glue.
The process of assembling a floor lamp. What does he look like?
If you have not changed your mind about making a floor lamp yourself, then you can start assembling.
If there is a bulb holder in the household, then this is very good. With its help, you can get rid of excess hassle with fasteners. Thanks to the metal mount in the cartridge, it is easy to attach the tube to it and connect it to the stand. In addition, the plastic protective ring is able to perform the function of the base for the frame, which, with the help of two clamping rings, is securely attached to one cartridge.
The cable connection to this part of the floor lamp can be hidden by taking a metal tube (up to 9 cm long will be enough), in addition, it will support the cartridge and provide greater reliability of the design. Try to find a light but strong rod that can hold the overhanging part of the product.
On the tube, cut the thread from one end, and securely attach the other to the cartridge, after bending the ears of the metal holder in the opposite direction.
Gently pull the wires through the tube, do some electrical work, and insulate the connections. Hide the insides and insulate with hot glue. Place a small washer at the junction of the shaft and the cartridge - this will help to center the structure.
Design of a support for a lighting fixture
Stand for floor lamp may look different. It can be a tripod, one rod, or a construction imagined by you. The main thing is that it is stable. It is best to take three legs and connect them so that an equilateral triangle is formed in the lower part, ensuring the stability of the entire structure. At the top, the supports are interconnected using a wooden blank previously cut on a lathe.
Having fixed the design of the floor lamp with your own hands, grasp the cable connection seal and attach the switch with the plug.
After finishing the work described above, cover the structure with paint or varnish, applying a matting coating on top.
How to make a frame for a lampshade?
Next, proceed with the assembly of the lampshade and its decoration. A popular version of the shape of the lampshade for the lamp is geometric. Correct and even lines will bring clarity and restraint to the interior.
You can make a frame for a floor lamp with your own hands from wire, which is easy to find in any hardware store. You will need two rings with a diameter of 30 centimeters. Note that the diameter of these rings must be equal to the diameter formed by the legs of the support under the lamp. Otherwise, the design will not have a very presentable appearance. In addition, you will need to stock up with another ring of smaller diameter for attaching the lampshade to the cartridge.
Cut four straight pieces of wire 25 cm each. They will serve as connecting parts between the upper and lower ring of the lampshade. Fix the cartridge in the center with the frame of the lampshade design with your own hands at home in four even sections up to 17 centimeters long.
Frame soldering
Solder the framework using soldering acid. This material will be more effective than conventional soldering (rosin), which does not always set well.
Try to arrange soldering places when making a floor lamp with your own hands inside the structure, so as not to think about how to hide them later to give the structure an attractive appearance.
When finished, neutralize the acid. To do this, take baking soda, dilute it in water and thoroughly rinse the solder spots. If you miss this moment, the substance may corrode the metal in places of contact with it over time.
Wait until the frame dries out and start painting. The basic aspects of how to make a floor lamp with your own hands, you have already studied. We proceed to simpler but more important points.
Lampshade plug
Lighting fixtures are not always equipped with this detail. Sometimes a design idea is to make light rays break through, forming bizarre shadows on the floor and ceiling.
You can take paper or cloth for the stub, depending on the situation. A figure of suitable shape is cut out from the drawing paper and inserted into the structure. The fabric, due to its elasticity, better hides small errors and looks more spectacular.
Consider the more difficult way - the manufacture of stubs on a fabric basis.
Textile cover for lampshade
To give the fabric that you will be pulling on the frame the desired shape, make a few cylinders from whatman. The more layers, the denser the design will be, if you want a translucent lampshade - get along with one layer of paper. Three layers of thick paper will be enough for a sturdy construction that will not transmit light.
According to the parameters of the cylinder, sew a cape from the fabric and pull it onto the paper base. Sometimes an elastic band is sewn into the fabric “apparel” for the floor lamp to tightly fit the frame. But this design option does not always look appropriate, and in some places resembles an old grandmother's lamp. Be smart and imaginative to decorate your lampshade in a modern way. Below in the photo is a floor lamp with your own hands.
The fabric is glued to the inside of the frame (whatman), wrapping it inward. After that, the final element of the lampshade is inserted - a plug, which is placed on the inside of the frame and neatly hides the places of fastenings, joints and processing.
Theoretically, the do-it-yourself floor lamp design is ready. At the last stage, it remains only to screw in an energy-saving light bulb and turn on the floor lamp to evaluate the result of the work done.