I LOVE a good ‘look for less,’ and this DIY is just that–and for a LOT less!  For years, I’ve coveted Kelly Wearstler’s Linden Table Lamp, but an $840 lamp–while stunning–is not in my budget. I was easily able to recreate the look–for less than $70!!!  And, I have to say, I’m quite impressed with the result. *Gets arm cramp from patting self on back*

Full disclosure, as with many DIYs, first attempts don’t always go as planned.  I’ll be honest and admit that this was my second go ’round creating this lamp…but it worked! 

SUPPLIES

• Lamp Base
• Lamp Shade
• 1″ Wooden Loose Beads (30#)
• Measuring Tape
• Sharpie Marker or Pencil
• Hot Glue Gun + Glue Sticks
• Painter’s Tape
• Black Spray Paint

INSTRUCTIONS

Decide how many beads you’ll want to glue down the side, and then measure the lamp base vertically from top to bottom.  I decided to do five beads per “row,” so I made a mark at the halfway mark as a starting point.  This part does require a little calculation and playing around with to get it right, but once you’ve marked the first row, it’s easy from here on out.  (Tip: You can use a level to ensure that your lines are straight and even!)

You an see in the above photo where I marked with a Sharpie, but then had to re-adjust my measurements.  Don’t worry if that happens to you, because the spray paint will cover it up! To attach the beads, I used a high temp glue gun.  As I stated previously, this was my second attempt at this project.  The first time I tried using E6000 (super heavy duty adhesive), since I thought it would hold better, but it ended up being a goopy mess and took too long to dry.  I also tried super-adhesive glue dots at one point, and while the glue dots seemed to have work initially, after a few hours beads started dropping…So it was the trusty ol’ hot glue gun for the win!

After all of the beads were glued on, I covered the parts of the lamp that I didn’t want to get spray paint on with plastic baggies and painter’s tape.  I then sprayed two coats of black gloss spray paint on the lamp, letting the coats dry in between.  As a reminder, always spray paint using quick sweeping motions for an even coat, and don’t get too heavy handed with it, or it could result in drips that are hard to cover!  I let the lamp dry for a good 24 hours, then I topped it with a shade, and Ta-da!!!!

I was so happy with how it turned out, that I couldn’t stop at just ONE lamp!  I had already purchased this lamp when I bought the one I was painting black, and had planned to paint it white for the living room.  I repeated the same process as above on the second lamp, but after I was finished gluing all of the beads on, I realized that they were the same wood tone as the lamp base, and it looked pretty great as it was, so I didn’t end up have to paint it.  Major win!

And there you have it!  This whole project only took a couple of hours (minus waiting for the paint to dry), and was extremely easy….well, I mean, after I figured out what not to do. But now I feel like I’ve mastered the process and am so excited to share it with y’all.

If you end up trying this DIY, please let me know! I’d love to see your creations!