Upcycled Basket Table Lamps
To celebrate Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week, I am going to show you how you can change the way your home feels with this quick and simple upcycle using materials that could have ended up in landfill!
If you’ve been following along over the last couple of years, you’ll know I am very much in love with my local tip shop here in Noosa. In 2018 non-profit Resource Recovery Australia became the new operator of the Noosa tip shop and set up Reviva Noosa. The revamped tip shop is an important part of Noosa Council’s plan to achieve a 55% reduction in waste to landfill by 2024, while also creating employment opportunities. And I’ve been shopping at the tip shop since I moved to Noosa about 8 years ago, when it used to only have a teeny tiny shed to shop from. And since it’s National Recycling Week, I thought I’d share a fun project using materials from the tip shop that could have ended up in landfill!
Often I get asked where to start with upcycling, and I always say secondhand lamps. They are one of my favourite pieces of decor to upcycle because they're an inexpensive way to change the way a room in your home looks and feels. They’re not a big commitment and there are an abundance of ways you can transform a lamp base and a lamp shade depending on your skills, time and creativity. Over the last couple of years I’ve used foam balls, PVC pipes, paint, grout, wool, raffia, MDF, chalk paint, plaster, timber dowel, spray paint and glue to DIY and upcycle a range of beautiful thrifted lamps! And for my latest lamp upcycle, I’ve used PVC pipes and baskets I found at Reviva Noosa to upcycle some new lamps for our home. Baskets are one of the things I always pick up when I go thrifting and I’m excited to share a fun way to reuse them! Usually my projects take a day or two, but these took just a couple of hours, including paint drying time. How good is that! Read on to find out how you can make your own Upcycled Basket Lamps. And as always, happing making!
And to see how this Upcycled Basket Table Lamps came together, make sure you check out this video!
Before & After
Project Details
🕒 Project Time Estimate: 1 hour, not including paint drying time
💰 Materials Cost: $50 for three lamps
⚒️ Power Tools: Sander
👷♀️ Skill Level: Beginner DIYer
Tools
Hand saw
Materials
3 x PVC Pipes
I got mine from my local tip shop but if you don’t have a tip shop close to you, hardware stores (such as Bunnings in Australia) sell them in a variety of diameters
I cut my PVC pipe with a hand saw but if you get your PVC pipes from a hardware store, ask them to cut the pipes for you
White primer paint
Dulux “Mornington Half” Interior paint (water based)
Paint brush
Blu tac
3 x Lytworx Night Light Dimmer Switch from Bunnings or something similar
How To
Step 1: Firstly, I measured how tall I wanted each lamp and made marks on the PVC pipe - xcm, x cm and xcm. Using my hand saw, I cut the PVC pipes.
Step 2: I gave each pipe a light sand with my sander to rough the surface up for painting with white primer paint. I also smoothed the top and bottom of each pipe too with my sander, and then I cleaned each pipe with a wet wipe. You can easily use a clean cotton cloth and water.
Step 3: I applied one coat of white primer paint on each pipe, and when that had dried, I applied two thin coats of paint onto each pipe.
Step 4: When the paint dried, I used blu tac to secure the night lights to the tops of PVC pipes and then I simply placed the baskets on top (upside down).
Note: You don’t want to use glue for Step 4 as you will need to remove the baskets to turn the dimmer switch on and off. Additionally, the dimmer switches are battery operated (but I have been told they last for a long time), so you will need to be able to replace the battieres when required. You can secure the dimmer switch to the baskets with more blue tac if you like, for extra stability
Ta daaaa! Three beautiful table lamps - all for under $50.
Can you believe that? I can, because it’s just been done and I couldn’t be happier. It’s amazing what you can do with tips hops PCV pipes, but throw in some secondhand baskets, paint, night lights and voila - three beautiful Upcycled Basket Table Lamps that bring warmth, function and style to our home. What I love most about this project is that you can totally make it your own to suit your interior style. You can choose light rattan or cane baskets instead of dark, you can switch up the paint colours and keep them minimalist, or add some stripes!
I love working with PVC pipes, so make sure you check out these projects:
