- Use a light-diffusing slipcover for a shade
Lamplight often owes its beauty more to the lampshade than the bulb. To soften harsh light from a fabric or paper shade, try a gathered slipcover — it is especially easy for a round shade. Check flame-retardent remnants and the linen cupboard for a lightweight fabric in a pale-to-medium colour or pattern and a piece of narrow ribbon to gather up the fabric.
- Cut the material about twice as wide as the smaller circumference of the shade (wider for a shade with one very wide end) and about 5cm longer than the top-to-bottom measurement. Piece together the fabric if necessary, perhaps alternating solid and patterned panels.
- Sew the short sides of the fabric together. Fold over and stitch the top and bottom edges to make 1-cm pockets, leaving a small opening in each. Now take the ribbon and cut lengths twice as long as the shade’s top and bottom circumferences and wrap one end of each length tightly with adhesive tape, so it looks like the tip of a shoelace.
- Thread the ribbon through the pockets, playing with the fabric so the gathers are evenly distributed. Tie off any excess ribbon as little bows. To secure the cover, tack down the top and bottom edges with thread or double-sided fabric tape. The finished lampshade will look as soft and pretty as the lamplight.
Caution: halogen lights get very hot, so stick with heat-appropriate shades for those lamps.
- Perk up your lampshades
Did you know that you can spray-paint a fabric shade to give it a new look? And you won’t have to buy paint if you have some craft paint or leftover emulsion on hand.
- Using a ratio of 1 part paint to 10 parts water, mix enough to fill a 500-ml plastic spray bottle. Ensure that the lampshade is clean and free of dust. Protect the inside of the shade with paper secured by masking tape. Begin by spraying a light, even coat; let it dry. Spray on more paint, drying between coats, until you have achieved the intensity of colour that you want.
- Add a design by using masking tape to make vertical or diagonal stripes. Or cut shapes from a coated paper, attaching them to the unpainted shade with spray adhesive (follow instructions for a temporary bond). After spray painting, remove the cutouts once the paint is dry. For a soft, mottled effect, use the same paint formula and dab paint, a little at a time, directly onto the shade with a natural sponge. The fabric will diffuse the colour, creating a light and airy look.
- Silhouettes on the shade
Add extra interest to a plain paper or fabric lampshade with dark or black construction paper cutouts — also a fun way to decorate for special occasions. (Try leaf patterns for an autumn celebration, snowflake silhouettes for a winter one, hearts for Valentine’s, pumpkin lanterns for Halloween, footballs for an end-of-season party.) A medium-weight card works, too. Translucent white, cream, gold, beige and pastel shades give the best effect. When cutting out the shapes, size them to the shade — not too large and not too small. Fix the shapes to the inside of the shade with double-sided tape, taking special care that the paper doesn’t touch or lie too close to the light bulb. Now turn on the lamp and see how the silhouettes appear almost ’embedded’ in the light. Paper cut-outs will begin to curl over time, but they’re easy to remove and replace.
- Almost anything can be a lamp base
Picture a beautiful ceramic flowerpot illuminating your living room. It’s relatively simple to convert just about any non-fragile container, large or small, into a one-of-a-kind lamp base. Most containers need a hole drilled into the bottom or side for the cord. You can cannibalize an old lamp for no-cost parts, but if you lack experience with electrical wiring you should take your object of choice to an electrician for help. You might have to spend some money (shop-bought lamp kits have almost everything you need), but compared to what you’ll pay for a new lamp, you’ll be surprised by how much you can save by creating your own design. Wonderful lamp bases can be repurposed from old:
- Inexpensive vases
- Garage sale jugs
- Large coffee mugs
- Overturned ceramic mixing bowls
- Larger cup-style trophies
- Books that have been placed on top of each other and glued together
- Antique wooden boxes
- Flower pots
- Paint an old lamp base
Spark up an old or inexpensive wooden, metal, plastic or even glass lamp base with a coat of paint. Use paint you already have, but check the information on the can to be sure the paint is suitable for the lamp-base material. If you need to buy paint, one spray can or one small can of enamel should be plenty for a pair of medium-sized lamps. (Glass requires special paint, available from craft suppliers, to achieve a permanent finish.) The colour and design are up to you. Anything goes, from an antique finish to a thoroughly modern industrial look.
Before painting, use masking tape to protect the fittings and any areas that you want to keep paint-free, such as a metal base or trim. Also tape over the top of the socket to avoid getting paint on the contact points.
- Bedazzle an ordinary chandelier
A plain chandelier can become a dazzler when hung with strands of crystals and beads. Go through what you have already — leftover glass beads and faux pearls from other craft and sewing projects, crystal baubles from an unused chandelier, beads from broken or no-longer fashionable costume jewellery. Look for beads with sparkle. Though stringing with pliable wire will allow you to form shapes, dental floss and beading thread are just as strong as wire. String baubles and beads in interesting combinations and then loop and swag them on your light fixture (turned off at the switch) until you have a look you like. Then turn on the light to appraise the dazzling results.
- Paint a simple ceiling medallion
Plain, flush ceiling light fixtures are the Cinderellas of room lighting; they work hard, yet no one pays them any attention. But with a little leftover emulsion paint, some string and a ladder, you can dress up a dull ceiling light. The idea is to mimic a circular plaster medallion. On paper, work out an attractive design, such as concentric circles in different colours and shades. Remember that you’ll be painting upside down, so keep the design simple.
Tie a pencil to one end of the string, tape the other end to the centre of the fixture and mark off your outside circle. Use the string compass to mark other circles and semi-circles and a straight edge for lines. Evaluate your design from ground level before painting. If you’re not confident of your painting abilities, use flexible tape to outline sections of your medallion as you proceed. Wipe away any mistakes with a wet cloth. With some advance practice, you might add shading and highlighting to give your faux medallion a 3-D look.
- Make dinner more intimate
Soft lamplight adds intimacy in restaurants and clubs. You can duplicate this kind of romantic lighting in your dining room, using a lamp and a table runner you already own, plus some masking tape. Lay the runner on your dining table and position the lamp. If the runner has a cutwork pattern, you may be able to slip the lamp cord through. Otherwise, cut a slit in the runner, just wide enough for the plug, at the point where the cord exits the lamp base. (You can also do this with a tablecloth you don’t mind cutting.) Run the cord under the fabric and tape it to the table. Now tape the cord to the inside of a table leg and run it to the nearest electrical outlet. To keep anyone from tripping, tape loose cord unobtrusively to the floor. Dim the room lights to get the full effect.
- Beautiful botanical candles
Turn plain candles into really special botanical beauties, using the bounty of your garden and nonflammable household glue. Choose small, flat-faced flowers such as violets, pansies or nasturtiums and press them for a few hours in a telephone book. Flatten ordinary grass (unmowed), fern stems, plant leaves and flower petals in the same way. Glue the natural material to the lower half of candles. Tip: if you’re not going to use the candles immediately, dip them in paraffin melted in a double boiler. A thin coat of paraffin protects botanical items and helps to preserve their colour.
- Tea lights in a sandy bed
Here is an economical way to transform any fairly large, shallow, flameproof container into an unexpected light show. From a treasured silver or wooden tray to a serving platter with gently sloping sides to a simple baking tray —you’re sure to have a suitable container around the house. Even the lid from a large tin of sweets or biscuits will do. Line the container bottom with aluminium foil and add a smooth layer of clean sand. If you don’t have any sand, try table or sea salt or small dried pulses such as green lentils and yellow split peas or black beans. Embed the tea lights to the top of their sides. Use a small paint or make-up brush to sweep away any material on the candle itself.
- Sparkling candle holders
A little glitter and clear-drying household glue will turn a humble candle holder into the shimmering, sparkling star of any candle display. Check first that both glitter and glue are not flammable. Brush the candle holder with glue and roll it in glitter. A really thorough coat of glue will produce a nearly opaque glitter covering; less glue, applied randomly, will give the look of a dusting of glitter. If you don’t have any glitter, lightly brush on glue and roll the holder in granulated sugar, table salt or sea salt. You won’t be able to wash these candle holders, but when stored in cling film they will keep their sparkle for quite some time.
- Glassware candle holders
If you have masses of candles but not enough candle holders to display them in, look through your good, better and best glassware as well as more mundane items such as jam jars, canning jars, tumblers and printed drinking glasses.
A mix of pretty glasses with candles —different sizes, shapes and colours — can make an intriguing arrangement on a table or mantel-piece. Two or three stemmed crystal wine or water goblets can be sublimely elegant candle holders on a formal dining table. Float tea candles in cocktail glasses, filled about two-thirds with water. Pillar candles will rest easily inside flat-bottomed water glasses.
For glassware that has a concave or convex base, stick pillar candles or tapers to the inside of the base with Blu-Tack and then pour in enough salt to support the candle. (The salt will catch any wax drips and can be easily disposed of later.)
To get a really spectacular look, use a dripless candle and substitute metallic glitter or glass beads for the salt.
