DIY Floor Lamp - Design Your Workspace Series

To make this floor lamp you will need the following tools:

• Circular saw

• Mitre box and hand saw

• Drill

• Flat wood bit

• Rotating multitool

• Pipe cutter

• Clamps

• Paintbrush

You will also need the following materials:

• Wooden board measuring 600x300x18 mm

• Wooden rod measuring 27 mm in diameter y 2m long

• Copper tube measuring 16 mm in diameter y 1m long and a copper tubing angle piece of the same diameter

• Wood glue

• Masking tape

• Wire with switch

• Spray paint can in glossy white

• Wood varnish with an oak coloured tint

• Metallic flower pot

If you already have the tools, the approximate cost of the materials is under £40.

Furthermore, this DIY project is considered suitable for beginners, even though it is recommended to have some experience handling a drill first. Finally, the project will take around a morning or an afternoon to fully complete.

This floor lamp combines different materials, such as wood and copper which gives it a modern touch. Furthermore, you can incorporate recycled elements, such as the flower pot. If you are interested in a matching table to complete your reading corner, don't miss this tutorial for making a scandi style table with copper tubes.

Step 1: Make the base

First of all, we must make the base of the lamp. With the circular saw - or telescopic mitre saw - cut the following pieces from the 18mm thick wooden board:

• 250mm x 200 mm

• 200mm x 160 mm

• 150mm x 120 mm

Next, we will place the pieces of wood, centred one on top of the other, from largest to smallest. They then need to be glued together using wood glue.

Once the glue has dried, drill the boards together with the flat wood bit. Bear in mind that the drill bit must be a millimetre smaller than the wooden rod, as a drilled hole will always turn out having a slightly larger hole. In this case, the rod is 27mm in diameter, so the drill bit must be 26mm.

The second step consists of making the lamp stand. Cut the rod with the hand saw so that it is 175cm long. Next, make a diagonal 16mm hole in the rod, so that the copper tube can pass through. For this, you’ll need a 15mm drill bit, placed at a 45º angle to the rod.

To make this a little easier and more accurate, place a triangular piece of wood to support the diagonal angle of the drill.

Next, use the pipe cutter to cut the copper tube to 75cm long. Make a hole 25cm from one of the ends. This hole must be large enough to fit the wire which will eventually be attached to the light fitting.

The lampshade for this DIY floor lamp is a recycled flower pot. To attach the light fitting, we will follow these steps:

1. With a pencil we will outline the diameter of the light fitting.

2. We will use the rotating multitool to drill along the marked circle, until the line has been cut into a full circle.

3. Next, we will sand down the edges.

4. Finally, we will screw on the light fitting.

The next step consists of painting the base and the lamp stand. We used spray paint, but feel free to get creative with a stain or gloss. We chose to paint the base in white up to 90cm mark, and then finish the rest with oak tinted wood varnish.

The lamp shade was decorated with star shaped vinyl stickers.

Finally, you’ll need to connect the wire to the light fitting by following these steps:

1. Feed the wire through the copper tube, through the newly drilled hole.

2. Pull the end through and attach the copper joint securely.

3. Place the copper tube into the wooden rod, through the diagonally cut hole.

4. Attach the wire to the rod with a hook.

5. Connect the wires to the light fitting.

6. Adjust the trim.

7. Screw in the light bulb.

Once all these steps are complete, our DIY floor lamp will look something like this.

This floor lamp is not only ideal for a reading corner, but can also be used to illuminate a work space.