One of our favorite sources of DIY inspiration are craft & DIY blogs, and we have a longstanding blogger-crush on the sister duo at A Beautiful Mess. These talented gals (and their team of handy contributors) churn out an astonishing array of beautiful, modern, yet affordable DIY projects. We have silently praised their lighting projects over the past year, but admire in silence we will not longer! Here are our top lamp and lighting projects from A Beautiful Mess.
DIY PENDANT LAMP
This pendant by contributor Sarah Sherman Samuel takes a kitchen dish and turns it into a modern pendant light. Using IKEA fixtures is one of the easiest ways to get started with DIY lighting, which makes this project super simple.
This cheeky monkey lamp was an existing CB2 lamp which the gals simply customized the shade. Elsie took a white oil pastel and scribbled free-form zig-zags on the shade, to give it a fun twist. Adding a posy in the monkey's hands added a pop of color. Sweet!
This doily DIY is a Pinterest favorite. Salvage an old lampshade by sewing together a series of lace doilies for a romantic, shabby-chic look. This project will require a lampshade frame with 'ribs' - those lengths of steel that connect the top & bottom rings. Not all lampshades have them - but when you find one that does, this is a perfect way to upcycle it!
We would recommend an extra step in this tutorial, which would be to first sew onto the frame some Hug Snug in a similar shade to your doily. This will allow you to sew your doily directly to the Hug Snug wrapped around the frame for a smoother finish.
Contributor Mandi Johnson made this striking floor lamp using an old birdcage stand and an acrylic globe, which makes a perfect excuse for a trip to the thrift store! Again, a light cord set from IKEA would make short work of this project. I would love to see an actual birdcage in the frame for a different kind of kitschy floor lamp.
Contributors Joshua & Sarah Rhodes showed readers how to easily create a pendant light installation which can be adhered to the wall with a shelf bracket. The tutorial gets into the grisly detail of wiring a light switch and socket from scratch.
If you're now hooked on A Beautiful Mess, we recommend liking them on Facebook, where the girls and their contributors share multiple new projects & recipes daily. It's certainly one of the most prolific and high-quality DIY blogs out there. If you have a favorite DIY blog, please share it in the comments so we can check it out!
