Create this wooden design lamp for a touch of industrial charm

Wooden lamp in a red themed living room — Natural wood meets industrial charm

Difficulty

medium
Cost

50-100 £
Duration

3 - 8 h

Introduction

Natural wood meets industrial charm – give your home the trendy “loft look” with this lamp. Natural materials give off a warm and cosy vibe. Whether in the living room, bedroom or dining room – this natural lamp with its unique, louvre-shaped design will catch everyone’s attention and put every room in the right light.

You need

Tools

Utilities

scissors
compass
protective gloves
pencil

Materials

1 plywood panel, 4 mm thick, (100 cm x 100 cm), birch or poplar
1 small bottle of wood glue
1 lampholder, optionally with textile cable, length of the cable to your taste and according to room height
LED lamp

L: Length, W: Width, H: Height, D: Diameter

Let's go - step by step

Step 1 6

Download the construction plan and mark out the lamp parts

Various tools laid out ready to make a wooden lamp

You need: compass, scissors

First download the construction plan and template for the louvres and print them out.

When you look at the lamp design you can clearly see that it becomes narrower towards the top and wider towards the bottom. Use a compass to mark the first ring for the top part of the lamp with an outer diameter of 10 cm and an inner diameter matching the lampholder (here 4 cm) and a second ring (outer diameter 14 cm, inner diameter 8 cm) on the plywood panel.

Download PDF

Step 2 6

Create the lamp sections

Man using a compass to mark out the parts for a wooden design lamp

Man marking and cutting out parts for a wooden design lamp

You need: scissors, compass, pencil, 1 plywood panel 4 mm thick (100 cm x 100 cm), birch or poplar

Then cut out the template for the louvres and transfer it onto the plywood panel 20 times.

Step 3 6

Cut out the lamp sections ready for construction

You need: Jigsaws, Hand-held circular saw, 1 plywood panel 4 mm thick (100 cm x 100 cm), birch or poplar

Now it’s time for the saws. Use the jigsaw to cut out the rings and the hand-held circular saw to cut out the louvres. Fix the wood panel in place with G-clamps to ensure that you work safely. The two small slots in each louvre enable it to be simply attached around the rings later on – creating the round shape of the lamp.

TIP

Use a cordless drill driver and a larger wood drill bit to pre-drill a hole on the inner edge of the ring, insert the jigsaw blade into that hole and start sawing.

Step 4 6

Sand down all the wooden pieces for a smooth finish

Man using a Bosch PSM multisander to make a Wooden design lamp

You need: Multi-sander

Carefully sand down all cut edges using the multi-sander. Ideally you should fasten the louvres to a workbench first.

TIP

If you want to give your lamp a special dab of colour, you can paint, oil or stain the louvres to your taste.

Step 5 6

Put the lamp together

You need: 1 lampholder, optionally with textile cable, length of the cable to your taste and according to room height, LED lamp

Let there be light! First connect the lampholder to the upper ring. A textile cable goes perfectly with the natural materials of the lamp and creates a neat, colourful touch. Use an LED lamp as the light source because it does not get very hot, making it safe to use with wood. You should definitely have the electrical connections checked by an expert before operating the lamp for the first time.

Step 6 6

Fit the lamp to the ceiling

Man putting together a homemade Wooden design lamp

You need: wood glue

The natural lamp is now slowly taking shape. Put some wood glue on the slots and attach the louvres around both rings at intervals of about 1 cm each. The ring with the lampholder goes at the top, the ring with the larger diameter at the bottom.

Note: Attach about five to ten adjacent louvres without any glue so that they can later be removed with ease if you need to replace the bulb. It is best to test first how many louvres you need for this, and then use a pencil to mark them somewhere people will not notice so that you can identify them again later. Last but not least, fit the natural lamp to the ceiling. Now you can enjoy atmospheric evenings with a stylish ambience.