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Monday, April 28, 2014

53

DIY Diamond Lamp

This month I am challenging you to whip up some high/low storage, however, I couldn't resist a little high/low home decor DIY project as well.  Although not storage related, I have been in the market for a lamp update in our living room.

After we went with neutral walls, we have by slowly bringing the color back into the room in new ways.  I started by saying bye bye to the cream curtain panels and replaced them with navy stunners.  The next item on the list with the bone colored lamp which was also paired with an ivory lamp shade.  Blah plus blah equals blah.

Knowing that our current lamp was from Pottery Barn years ago, and still a classic lamp in mint condition, I couldn't bring myself to painting it.  I wanted to bring in something that would add some visual interest to our credenza, yet not cost a fortune.  I have been crushing on these beautiful geometric options that I have seen pop up in retail stores recently, but ranging in price from $100-$450, they just were not an option.  So, we made our own!



The shape of the lamp was basic, so we used some scrap MDF to create the base.  We measured the lamp that was on the credenza previously, and tried to come close in size.  Each rectangle was 6" wide by 14 1/2" tall.  The center square for the top of the lamp was 5 1/2" wide and tall.


We assembled the pieces by pairing wood glue with our brad nailer.



Once the base of the lamp was assembled, we puttied any gaps and nail holes, and sanded everything smooth.

The base of the inspiration lamp boasted a chunky piece of acrylic.  We made a few mistakes during this process and the first was purchasing the acrylic prior to cutting our lamp.  We initially figured our lamp would be 7" wide, so we went to our local Ace Hardware and had them cut acrylic at 8" wide.  We had them cut the thickest acrylic they offered, and because they didn't have anything as thick as the inspiration lamp, we had them cut three pieces for us to stack for a total of $8.  We super glued the acrylic pieces together {in the center of the acrylic which would be hidden by the lamp base}, and added some rubber feet to the bottom.



After the acrylic pieces were glued, we realized that the lamp was going to be too big at 7" wide, and reduced it to 6".  This left a slightly larger lip of acrylic at the bottom than what I was going for, but in the end it still looked so pretty.  However, I recommend putting together your lamp base prior to having your acrylic cut to be sure you are getting exactly the right dimensions.

The next step was to prime and paint the base of the lamp white.  Sorry, photos are lacking, but it was as basic of a paint job as it gets.

Once the white paint was dried, I started taping.

I am not going to lie.  This process took me over two hours of patience and dedication.  It was tedious and time consuming, but with every new line I was more and more jazzed about how it was looking.


I used 5/8" thick tape.  Mistake number two was that the painters tape was not "edge locking".  Thinking that I was taping on a flat surface made me believe I would be OK and I used inexpensive off-brand painters tape that I already had on hand.  There was some bleeding under the tape which ultimately led to an hour of manual touch ups. 

As far as how I was able to achieve the pattern, I started by finding the center of the front of the lamp.  I placed a piece of tape which was a perfect diamond of 5/8" x 5/8".  I then used a few scrap strips of tape to create an even spacer around the diamond and worked my way out.  Once the front was done to match the inspiration, I used that as a guide to work around each side.  A sharp utility knife paired with a straight edge is useful in slicing the tape edges.


After the entire base was taped off, I rolled on two layers of green paint.  I waited about an hour in-between coats and pulled the tape after the second coat was almost dry.  The color is Martha Stewart's Cornichon.


To be sure the tape didn't pull the base layer of white, I lightly scored the tape with the utility knife prior to pulling.  It also helps to use a flat paint for the base coat, as glossy on glossy can cause added tape pulling and coverage issues.

Once the lamp had dried for a bit, Bryan installed an inexpensive lamp kit found at Home Depot.  Drilling a small hole in the top and another in the back at the base, the kit was quickly installed making this lamp fully functional!  Oh happy day!


I paired the new lamp with a shade I had in our storage room.  It is a smidge small so I will be keeping my eyes peeled for something a little bigger, but for now, it is getting the job done and we are in love!


We are excited to be welcoming green back into the living room mix!


The geometric pattern was just what I was longing for.  It adds color and interest to the area.  I almost cheated and just went with basic stripes, but now I am oh-so-proud that I stuck with the tedious taping process!


And there she is complete with a balloon photo bomb.  A color happy ending to this high/low story.


Have you been embracing the high/low challenge this month?  How about any fun lighting DIY projects?

53 comments:

  1. Beautiful as always!!! I love it and your home. ;) XOXO

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  2. This is so adorable and it looks very easy!

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  3. My husband said, We will make it together, I can Wait ooou! Thanks for idea.

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  4. Wow!! Great job (as usual!!). I love that you're bringing back green, I didn't think it would be too long. ;) I have a project for the High/Low challenge but it's not exactly storage.

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  5. Wow!!! This lamp turned out so beautiful! I love how simple it was to make. Love the colors!

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  6. Wow - I cannot believe you made that yourself...!!! The taped pattern is absolutely perfect! You have such stylish vision and seriously meticulous attention to detail. Amazing job. I'm so impressed.
    Karen | a house full of sunshine

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  7. I am in love with this! It's quite amazing how much the ones at the store cost!

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  8. A trick for paint bleeding under the tape... do a quick swipe with the base color over the edges of the tape. That way if it bleeds under the tape it'll be bleeding the same color. Then add coat(s) of your intended paint color to finish the project.

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    1. I love that tip! I have always done that with our textured walls and achieved the most perfect stripes, but never had the problem with flat surfaces. But definitely recommend doing it always going forward, especially after hours of tedious taping! :)

      xoxo!

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    2. I was going to say the same thing :)

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  9. This is absolutely stunning! & it easily looks just expensive as the high end version. The pattern is definitely intimidating to tape but it's gorgeous! {adding this to my list of DIYs} Amazing job!

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  10. Amazing job! It seemed like it would be a bit tricky, but you make it look sooo easy! I'm not sure I care for the green though, I think navy might have popped a little more...just being honest :), but it seems you all love the green, so a little splash is all good!...beautiful job! :)

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  11. May I ask how much this project cost you?
    ~Ann

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    1. Hi Ann!

      Because we had the wood and shade on hand, the cost was $12 for the light kit and $8 for the acrylic base and $3 for a sample of green paint. However, the wood probably would have cost about $10 and the shade really could range in price from $15-$40 depending on where you scoop one up.

      xoxo!
      Jen

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  12. This is gorgeous! You did a wonderful job getting the look for less!

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  13. LOVE this!! Brilliant :) I want to give this a try!!

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  14. This is one of the best DIY projects I have seen. I have an old lamp that this may work for. I think I will try a Greek Key design to co-ordinate with my silver pattern. I just think this is too cool!

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  15. Oh my goodness - this is close to one of my favorite projects of all time - in like ever - from you! Pinning!

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  16. Hi Jen,

    I have been reading your blog for a long time now and it's the first one I go to when catching up on my blog reading... Having JUST spent last night taping off vertical stripes on a very long wall... and having sections bleed through the tape (aaarrrgghh!) - I can be extra appreciative of your hard work taping off that pattern. What a job! End product looks gorgeous xxx

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    1. Oh boo! Sorry to hear you experienced the bleed through as well. I hope you were able to get it fixed so that you can enjoy the stripe wall!

      xoxo!

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  17. Your DIYs amaze me! They never look cheap (not that cheap is a bad thing).

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  18. That lamp is beautiful!! Fantastic job. I love aqua, too, and seeing how you paired navy with it looks so good that I think that's something I can do as well. Thanks for being so inspiring.

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  19. Holy Cow!! You are amazing!!!! That lamp is to die for.

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  20. The patterns looks like they're creating a neat optical illusion in the pictures and your rectangle lamp is bending a bit. Very neat. Great project.

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  21. I am so impressed by the tape job you did - I can just imagine how long that must have taken but it turned out so good! Loved the post - the comparison of the high/low can really give readers an idea of much they can save by getting creative and just trying a little DIY.

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  22. You're such a trend setter miss jen!
    amazing!

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  23. That's amazing!!! You have brilliant ideas!

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  24. Very nice. I like the pattern and color you chose. Perfect for that spot on the console.

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  25. Beautiful lamp! Would usinga silhouette-cut pattern (× 4) make it possible to achieve the same look without the taping? Can you design your own stencils for it? I just bought one but i haven't tried it yet... just imagining the possibilities!

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  26. I absolutely love this! Great job!!!

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  27. I admire your patience and determination in doing those projects. From the looks of it, it surely wasn't easy. Great job!

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  28. Love it! I think it looks quite better than your inspiration. I especially like it against your newly painted neutral walls. That pop of pattern and color is just lovely!

    Maria
    cmntsblog.blogspot.com

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  29. This is so pretty, thanks for the post! Two questions for you. (1) Can you please explain this step? "To be sure the tape didn't pull the base layer of white, I lightly scored the tape with the utility knife prior to pulling." I'm not sure what that means. (2) How did you get the light kit wire through the top and back of the base? Is it easy to thread them through? Hadn't you already closed the bottom of the base off? Thank you again!

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  30. Beautiful! The acrylic base and geometric pattern totally make it stand out and seem high end!

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  31. So fun, especially at such a small price! Love that you're adding more color to the room now. Much more 'Jen' of you. :)

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  32. This is such an inspiring post! I seriously love it! Also, I really appreciate the fact that you do such quality work (i.e, sanding, putty, etc.). Bravo!

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  33. I am in love too! Pinning for later.

    Also good to know Ace Hardware cuts acrylic. I am making over some $15 desks and dont want to pay $75 for glass for the top!!!

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  34. Such a unique and creative DIY project!!! LOVE IT!!!!

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  35. What the what!? This is absolutely incredible! I just added to my life bucket list "make lamp from scratch." You make it look so easy! And love the pattern and color you chose. You get an A+ from me, Jen! Have a great week, girly!

    ~Abby =)

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  36. I love this lighting project, Jen! And the color you chose is just perfect on your white furniture. I DIY-ed a fun lighting project last week. Hop over to check it out if you can: http://placeofmytaste.com/2014/04/diy-pendant-light-super-bright-led-bulb.html Have a great week!Xo

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  37. It looks soooo good! The acrylic doesn't look too big to me at all. I would never have been able to get the pattern looking so perfect! It looks great in your space!

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  38. This is awesome! Kudos for having so much patience!

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  39. Lovely as always! Not sure I'd be good at taping that pattern as good as you have. Great tutorial :)

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  40. That is a a super cute lamp and you made it look so easy to duplicate!

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  41. STOP IT!!!! That is amazing. I just pinned. I am so in love with this whole space. You have such a great eye for color and design.

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  42. Hi Jen!! This lamp is super!!!!!
    What kind of paint you used?
    Thank you

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    1. Thank you! I just used regular latex paint for this project. :)

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