From Wayfair commercials to the Ballard Designs catalog to the shelves at Pottery Barn, I've been seeing glass base lamps everywhere lately, and I love them.  Something about their whimsical shapes, barely there colors and the way the light plays off of the shimmery surfaces has me thinking of rocky beaches, cups of tea and curling up in a window seat with a good book.  There is the slight problem of not having a rocky beach, a window seat, or time to read, but hey, at least I can have a pretty lamp.

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3

As per usual, I'm not a huge fan of the prices listed for the lamps I'm finding, which range anywhere from $150-$229.  I should also note that those prices are generally for the base only.  As that's a wee bit out of my price range at present, I stuck the lamp on my "someday" wishlist and didn't think too much more about it.

Then, the other day, while at Ross looking for some storage containers, I came across a gorgeous, over-sized iridescent vase (jar?) made completely of recycled glass for $7.99.  Naturally, I scooped it up (I'd be a fool not to).  On the way home, it occurred to me that it would be perfect for a High/Low project.  I'd never made a lamp before, but I'd seen kits, and decided to figure out a way to make it work.  The result turned out much better than I expected.

How pretty is this vase?  I love the way it changes colors in different light!

I scouted out prices on lamp kits and discovered that the cheapest option was good ol' Wally World (Walmart).  Though they had a regular Bottle Lamp Kit ($6), I went ahead and picked up a 3-Way Lamp Kit as well ($7).  The prices were low and I can always use the extra pieces for another lamp down the road.

Having a small arsenal of decor items has helped me on more than one occasion, and it came through again with a spare lampshade that was just the right size.  (TIP: If you find yourself in need of a lampshade for this or any other projects, I highly recommend checking Ross first.  They almost always have a decent supply and their prices are dirt cheap.)



The first step was to drill a small hole in the bottom of the lamp for the cord to thread through.  Being married to a handyman rockstar is fairly helpful on these occasions, and he went to town with glass drill bits (Please, please, please wear eye protection if you decide to do this!!).  After the cord hole was big enough, I washed the vase (there's a lot of glass dust left on it) and let it dry overnight.

Between the two, the bottle kit came in the most handy as it included several sizes of adapters (rubber corks with holes in the center).  Initially I though the largest of these would work, and went ahead with threading the lamp nipple (didn't make that up, but it does make me giggle) through the hole.  At this point I started to feel that the size was still the tiniest bit too small for the opening on my bottle/jar/prettyglassthingy (that's a technical decor term), so, after some thought, I wrapped it several times with electricians tape.  This wound up working out quite well as the rubbery surface made it perfect for wedging snugly in, however the black made it stand out a little too much for my liking.   I gave it a good coating of silver spray paint (along with several other elements that I would be using) and left it to dry.  


Initially, I intended to walk you through the process of actually wiring the lamp, but the truth is, the kits give far better instructions than I do (plus I don't want to be responsible if you accidentally electrocute yourself).  What I can tell you is, it's a fairly easy, straightforward process.  You'll want to have a Phillips head screwdriver, wire strippers and needle-nose pliers on hand to expedite the process, and, if you plan to use a harp, make sure you insert the harp bottom before the socket cap.  Also worth mentioning: for whatever reason, the kit instructions don't tell you to make sure that you thread the cord through the bottle BEFORE inserting the adapter.  Yes, this should be common sense, but, for those who haven't done it before, it might get overlooked.




Once the lamp itself was wired, the lamp was essentially done. 

I cannot say enough how much I love the way this glass appears to change colors based on the light and its surroundings.  Aquas, blues, greens, purples and magentas... it's like sunset in a bottle :)

The harp that was included in one of the kits was higher than I wanted, so I exchanged it with the harp from an unused lamp.  (If you don't have one and need one, you can buy an adjustable harp at Walmart).  Because the harp can't be seen once the shade is on, I didn't bother spray painting it. 



The rest was gravy:  I added the shade, screwed on the now-silver finial, and Voila!  My gorgeous DIY Glass Bottle Lamp was done!! 

The bleached burlap shade plays a nice counterpart to the iridescent luster of the glass

 It's currently hanging out on my demilune entry table and I'm playing with how to style around it.  It throws great light up the stairs and I'm really glad that I went with the three way light kit.  The best part?  My beautiful Glass Bottle Lamp which costs hundreds of dollars in stores was less than $20 to make.  Killin' it.


Have a marvelous week, friends and leave me some love in the comments!!