DIY Odd-China Lamp

Lamps are the perfect DIY-projects. And vintage china is burning hot. As I reported earlier, nowadays everyone wants to take their daily (or in Henen’s case hourly) sip of coffee from a beautiful vintage cup. What could be more appropriate than to design your own vintage-china-lamp?

The most inspiring piece of cup-lamp I have seen is put together by Oddbirds (shown to the right). Oddbirds is a Swedish design group with a design philosophy completely in our taste here @ trendey. They say:

Nothing is sacred. Some might think it would be a shame to paint a Gustavian chair cerise and dress it with butterfly-patterned fabrics. But if we feel that is the right thing to do, that’s precisely what we will do.

Now back to the subject. At Country Living I found this great guide on how to make new use of mismatched china. Step by step, they let us know how stylist Paul Lowe turn a collection of castoffs into an Alice in Wonderland-inspired lamp not very unlike the Oddbirds-one. This version is tea, I prefer coffee. Here it goes:

First picture: A box of vintage china. In the guide I refer to, colour-coordinated, simply shaped teacups, pots, bowls, and saucers that would stack easily were chosen. 2. Organizing the spare parts. To create a balanced arrangement, the tip is to chose components that can form a pyramid – with large, heavy items on the bottom and lighter teacups up top. 3. Attach hardware. In this example the stylist filled the top cup with self-hardening clay. While the clay was still wet, he pressed in a socket-and-cord unit from Ikea and a harp from Lowe’s, an inch deep. He then let the clay harden for 24 hours. 4. Assemble it. Glue remaining elements together, let each piece dry for a minute before adhering the next. Paul in this example waited a day for the lamp to set, then he screwed a standard shade to the harp’s finial. The wiring of Paul’s creation doesn’t require any drilling, because the cord runs behind the lamp instead of through it. Keep the cord flush against the base with a few pieces of electrical tape, and then position the lamp against a wall. Extra tip: Sandwiching saucers in between the teapots and cups gives the lamp added stability. 5. Tada! A teapot lamp.

Pics and instructions: Country Living. If I misinterpreted their article and misled you, don’t blame Country Living. Thank me, for your overly oddish china lamp. :)