I have this bad practice of deferring things. If something can be done tomorrow, I would rather not put that effort today. So bad this habit of mine is, that it took me 7 months to complete a project that would have otherwise taken 2 days of dedicated work. Don’t know if it was lack of motivation, but I certainly found every bit reason to tell myself, “Hey, enough for today. Let me do this tomorrow”. And that tomorrow eventually arrived yesterday.
I had to commission a floor lamp for my aunt and the only specification was the feature wall backdrop. Finally after months and months of delaying, I managed to complete the lamp shade and deliver it.
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| DIY Lampshade |
For the base of the lamp shade, I stuck to a very basic design that I have earlier done. The 6mm thick plywood beading was just perfect for what I needed to build. The top of the base has an inset on which the lamp shade frame would comfortably sit.
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| Lamp shade base built using plywood edge bands |
The lamp shade frame was also built using the beading sticks. You can see the skeletal frame in the inset of the below photo. I personally feel these plywood beadings have more purpose and functionalities than just being used as beadings. If only we can wrack our brains and let creativity take over, there is so much more that can be made with these otherwise simple and seemingly useless materials. We instantly fell in love with a nice fabric that we thought would be in right contrast to the dark backdrop.
As for the shade design, I broke the monotony by introducing a section in the middle that would split the height of the shade. This was something we were skeptical about right from the beginning, but feel it was worth it in the end. What is your take ?
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| Fabric wrapped around the wooden frame |
The increasing challenge that am facing of late in making shades is that am not getting ample supply of the required bulb holders. Either because am in a very remote part of the city or because there is no much demand for it. The last time I went to the electrical store, I brought home all of the supplies that he had. Here’s a top view of the lamp shade.
My suggestion : Use CFL lamps as they are warmer and give a very pleasant effect.
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| Top view of the lampshade - bulb holder fixed in the center |
And finally, the lit effect. We are absolutely loving the outcome. Notice how light is getting distributed in the middle ! Well, it is easy for us to love our work. Do you like it too ? Let me know. If there is anything that needs change, what would be it ? Let me know your thoughts.
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| The lovely effect when the lampshade is lit |
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| DIY Lampshade |
I hope to continue with more such projects in the future. For some reason, I soooo love making lamp shades. The color, the vibrancy, and the charm around ambient lights is so remarkable that making one has such a fulfilling effect on me.
And now your turn : How do you feel about making something from the scratch that someone else is putting to really good use ?
