14 Creative Ways To Repurpose Old Floor Lamps Around Your Home And Garden

Old floor lamps that've;lost their functionality or no longer fit your decor;– but are just too pretty to throw out — are treasures just waiting to be repurposed. Whether relegated to the attic or standing in a corner gathering dust, your unwanted floor lamps are taking up precious space in your home that can be put to better use. The fact that it's an environmentally friendly option is just icing on the cake.

On its own, a tall floor lamp brings brightness to any dimly lit corner. As soon as it has outlived its function, the quick and easy option is to simply give it away to someone else or throw it in the trash can. With a little creativity and maybe even a bit of elbow grease, you can upcycle it into something else entirely for a fresh new look to your decor style. From turning it into a plant stand for your outdoor garden to giving it a completely new and modern design, floor lamps have a plethora of uses. So next time you find yourself with a broken floor lamp, or you come across one at a thrift store, before tossing it aside or just walking past it, consider the endless possibilities of repurposing it into a unique and practical piece that can bring an extra dose of personality to your indoor and outdoor living space. Here are some creative ideas to breathe new life into your old floor lamps.

We positively love this creative idea of repurposing an old floor lamp and turning it into a quaint bird bath for your garden. There are some important things to consider before starting your new DIY bird bath, but you can really use any type of shallow bowl, preferably one that's not glass or easily broken. Just add some water to the top, and then sit back and watch as all the birds from your neighborhood flock to your house for a cute dip in the water.

Take an otherwise boring floor lamp and turn it into a super affordable blooming flower light shade. This DIY trick works with any type of lamp base and shade when you want to bring extra color to a child's bedroom or a fresh floral vibe to any room in your home. You can even spray paint the base green for a more realistic look and customize the shade to blend seamlessly into your decor with any faux flower color. The adorable faux stem is optional but highly encouraged.

You've likely heard about turning a floor lamp into an indoor planter. But now it's time to take this genius hack outdoors. With this adorable repurposed outdoor project, you can use your existing shade or get a wire hanging basket (Amazon) to create your own garden patch. If you want to spray paint it, do it before adding the plants, whether faux or real, and then put it by your front door, on your back patio, or even inside with the right type of houseplants.

If your old floor lamp stops working, turn it into a pretty hanging chandelier light instead, especially when you still have a fondness for the lampshade. For under $25, you can create your own hanging light with a couple of ceiling hooks and a twisted natural jute rope cord from Amazon, which comes in a few different finishes. The great thing about this DIY is you don't need an electrician, and you can customize the jute rope to be as low or high as you want, depending on where it hangs. 

For floor lamps with multiple layers of lights, you can create a stylish garden with easy-to-grow indoor plants that will thrive in any space, like an ivy and a spider plant, for example. We love this DIY because a lamp with different heights can fill any space with artistic elegance. If your floor lamp doesn't have small, bowl-shaped lamp shades that will work for plants, you can always swap those out for ones that can accommodate them. Put the lamp planter by a corner window so it gets plenty of light.

Instead of buying an expensive ostrich feather lamp, which can set you back several hundred dollars, you can easily make your very own glam feather light from an old floor lamp for a whole lot less. The best part is that you can customize it any way you want with ostrich feather plumes, which are available on Amazon in virtually every color and length to achieve that super extra look you're going for. Plus, you can mix and match different feather sizes for an even more plush look. 

By simply removing the old bulbs, an old floor lamp can turn your Halloween decor up a notch, whether you're hosting parties or trick-or-treaters. Use a tall candelabra-style floor lamp with multiple light bulbs swapped for candles in a dimly lit entryway — both indoors and out. You can add drapes of beads to give the lamp some extra flair and ornate details. Or, if your home vibe is already trending more toward a gothic style all year, it can be a great eclectic piece to include in your dark aesthetic. 

Do you have large pieces of wood lying around and a lampshade from an old lamp you still adore, but you don't know what to do with them? Then, this is the DIY project for you. Take that wood and lampshade and turn them into a nature-inspired, sustainable floor lamp, with a rustic, farmhouse-inspired light cord (Amazon) wrapped around the wood. It's sure to spark plenty of conversations and become the envy of all your guests. This unique design creates minimalism and a cozy, cabinlike atmosphere in your space.

This DIY helps you turn an ordinary floor lamp (or any type of lamp) into a stately piece. With a minimalist and super modern design, your floor lamp can get a refresh using wood veneer. The lamp is topped with a conical shade, while its base features a slender silhouette. It has a natural, clean aesthetic for adding a contemporary look to your modern interior space. You can DIY one of your floor lamps or do several to give any room a layered and cohesive look.

Another way to bring a gothic vibe is to turn your floor lamp into a funky skeleton light that pulls double duty as a spooky skeleton Halloween decoration. And it might just be the easiest DIY project yet. You can make it with a plastic skeleton that you'll spray paint black, along with the base and lampshade. The whole thing can be jazzed up with creepy spider webs draped along the rib cage, or by adding lace or tassels to the lampshade. Get creative, as there are lots of other ways to customize it. 

If your love for Cottagecore runs deep, this whimsical light should fill your cup. With some colorful, lightweight fabric, your functioning lamp is transformed into a toadstool-inspired light that can be customized with your favorite color to make it as eclectic as you want. The sheer fabric will help add even more ambiance to your space by filtering the light. It won't matter how tall the lamp is, so use any size you have on hand. Pro tip: Use a color-changing LED light bulb to match the hue with your current mood.

Pretty much every floor lamp can be transformed into a statement-making tripod light to add a more distinctive design to any room. Whether you're giving an old lampshade a fresh look or buying a brand new one to go with your new tripod light, you can use the old floor light's electrical cord and parts to bring this DIY to life, customizing it as you go. Don't worry; no one will ever know you repurposed an old lamp into a stylish new piece.

A tall floor lamp that no longer serves its purpose is just begging to become a cute bird habitat. This unique way to repurpose a floor lamp offers a safe and inviting space for your feathered friends to nest and an aesthetically pleasing element to your outdoor space. This DIY project makes a nifty place for birds to nest and feel safe while also contributing to a more sustainable and environmentally responsible world. Make sure you put the birdhouse post in an area where other wildlife can't easily reach it.

Wondering what to do with a glass lampshade? One brilliant idea is to turn it upside down and use it as a patio table planter. Fill it with soil and plants that can tolerate the sunshine. Since the glass shade already has a hole in it, and if you have a patio table that also has one for a patio umbrella, then consider putting the umbrella through the lampshade hole. This not only provides extra security for the glass shade, it is also a very cute way to display your plants.