Okay, so I decided to try making one of those flowerpot floor lamps. Seen a few around, looked kinda neat, and honestly, I had an old pot and some lamp bits just sitting there gathering dust.
Getting Started
First thing, I grabbed the stuff I thought I’d need:
- An old terracotta flowerpot. Not too big, not too small.
- A basic lamp kit – you know, the cord with a switch, a plug on one end, and the socket thingy for the bulb on the other.
- A stick. Yeah, just a reasonably straight wooden dowel I had in the shed. About floor lamp height.
- Another, slightly heavier pot for the base. Stability, right?
- Some sand and pebbles I had left over from another garden project.
Putting It Together
Right, the main pot, the terracotta one, needed a way for the cord to come out. It already had that drain hole in the bottom, which was perfect. Saved me drilling.
Next, figuring out how to fix the lamp socket inside the pot, pointing downwards. This took a bit of fiddling. I ended up making a small wooden bracket, just a scrap piece, drilled a hole in it for the socket base to sit snugly, and then used some strong glue, like epoxy, to fix that bracket inside the bottom (which is now the top) of the pot. Let that dry properly.
While that was setting, I took the heavier base pot. Put the wooden dowel (my lamp stand) right in the middle. Then I started filling the pot around the dowel with the sand and pebbles. Packed it down pretty tight to make sure the stick stood straight and wouldn’t wobble. Solid base achieved.
Once the glue in the top pot was rock solid, I threaded the lamp cord through the drain hole, from the outside in. Then I wired it up to the socket that was now fixed inside. Made sure the connections were tight – don’t want any sparks!
Now, attaching the lampshade pot to the stand. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the top pot, just big enough for the top of the wooden dowel to slide into snugly. Added a bit more glue in there for good measure. It wasn’t super elegant, but it held.
So now I had a base pot with a stick coming out of it, and the lampshade pot glued onto the top of the stick, with the lamp socket inside and the cord running down the back of the stick.
The Final Touches
I used a few small cable clips to tack the cord neatly down the back of the wooden dowel so it wasn’t just flapping about. Screwed in a nice warm LED bulb – didn’t want anything too hot inside that terracotta pot.
Plugged it in, flipped the switch, and bam! Light. It actually worked.
It’s not perfect, mind you. It’s got that definite homemade vibe. The stick is just a stick, the pots are just pots. But it stands up straight, gives off a nice cozy light, and I made it myself from stuff I mostly already had. Put it in the corner of the living room. Looks pretty good, I reckon. Job done.
