DIY A Floor Lamp With Shelves To Maximize Purpose

Floor lamps with shelves offer a space-saving solution by combining lighting and storage in one design. They help maximize space in smaller rooms by providing a functional area for books and décor, as well as lighting. This dual-purpose furniture design reduces clutter and enhances the room's aesthetic appeal, giving it both style and functionality. Shelf lamps can be purchased anywhere from as little as $40 to several hundred dollars, depending on the style and quality. If you enjoy a good upcycling project, though, you can use an old lamp and a sheet of plywood to DIY a floor lamp with shelves to maximize purpose. 

Whether you can make this DIY floor lamp with inexpensive materials or not depends on if you need to buy a used lamp and the type and amount of plywood you will use (this DIY shelf lamp can be any height or width you need). For example, if you want a shelf lamp that doubles as a nightstand, the plywood for this project is as little as $10. If you had something taller and with more shelves in mind, then you would need to spend more. Whatever size lamp you choose to make, this is still a fairly simple and relatively inexpensive project. Along with the 1/2 inch plywood piece and lamp, to build the shelves, you will just need a table saw, wood glue, spackle, paint, screws, and a drill and screwdriver. For the lamp installation, you will need pliers, wire cutters, and a small block of wood. 

For this project, you first need to build the frame. Use your table saw to cut four 1-inch strips and four 1-and-a-half-inch strips from your plywood sheet. If your plywood sheet is longer than the desired height of your lamp, you can trim it to the appropriate length before cutting the strips. Then, cut the size and number of shelves you want from the remaining plywood. To assemble the legs, glue each 1-inch strip to a 1-and-a-half-inch strip longways to form a shallow "L" shape. When your wood glue is dry, use a countersink bit to evenly place pilot holes and screw the boards in place. 

After the lamp's legs are assembled, mark where your shelves will go. To connect the shelves to the legs, apply wood glue to the corners of the shelves, wedge each shelf into the "L" shape, make pilot holes with the countersink bit, and drive screws through both sides into the shelf board. Repeat this process with each leg and drill a hole in the top shelf for your lamp wire. 

Disassemble your old lamp by using wire cutters to cut off the plug and pulling the cord free from the base. Screw a hole in the small block of wood and attach it with glue to the top shelf, lining up the holes. Thread the wire through the wood piece and reattach the plug by twisting the exposed wires together and covering with electrical tape.

After you have threaded the lamp through the top shelf, it's time to add the lamp's frame and cover. To make the frame, you need to cut eight 1-inch plywood bars to the length and width of the shelves. Four of the bars will be screwed in to connect the top of the frame, and the other four go around the top shelf, creating what looks like a tray. Then, spackle over all of the screws and any imperfections, and paint. There are different ways you can install the fabric cover. One is to use small pieces of wood with fabric stapled to the back to create inserts, which will rest against the frame you just made. Another is to staple the fabric directly to the inside of the frame. Finally, add an LED bulb (incandescent bulbs are a fire hazard in such a small space), and enjoy your new DIY shelf lamp.

Of course, painting your lamp is one way to customize it. If you choose to make fabric inserts instead of stapling the fabric directly to the frame, you've created endless opportunities for customization. Your fabric frames can be changed out with new ones based on the room's décor, or you could give your room a seasonal makeover with new panels a few times a year. For example, to give a room an airy summer look, you could use rice paper for your floor lamp inserts.