Make a Lamp from a Bottle

Using part from the hardware store, you can make a lamp out of an old bottle for about ten bucks.

Remove these ads by Signing Up

Step 1: Gather materials and tools

You will need:
-a suitable bottle:
I used a champagne-like bottle from the Brooklyn Brewery's delicious refermented brew, Local One. Use any bottle you like, so long as it's heavy enough to balance your lamp hardware.
-lamp hardware:
I bought a package at Home Depot with all the parts, but you can easily gather them: a stabilizing plug to fit your bottle opening (rubber stopper) with a hole in the middle, a short section of threaded bar to fit inside the stopper, a basic bulb socket with cap, switch, and shell, some electrical wire, and a wall plug.
-lamp harp to support shade
-lampshade
-wingnut to secure shade to harp

Tools:
-pliers
-utility knife
-small phillips head screwdriver

origamiguy says: Sep 24, 2007. 9:17 AM

a few Arizona bottle lamps, note the cool bulbs! Hanson's also had a series of Native American labels for their soft drink bottles, I have yet to make any lamps but I will fill them with colored sand layers since they are clear glass.

$C:\Documents and Settings\Wildcat\My Documents\Arizona lamps 2.jpg$

bekathwia (author) in reply to origamiguySep 24, 2007. 9:20 AM

Wow, really neat! Thanks!

mz anne thrope says: Nov 27, 2010. 9:45 AM

Has anyone drilled out the bottom of a bottle? Would a ceramic drill bit work? I have large olive oil bottles with bubbles in the glass and these would make great lamps, especially if i could figure out how to put another small wattage bulb inside.

jack8559 in reply to mz anne thropeDec 23, 2010. 7:06 PM

carbide or - even better - diamond drill bits will cut it. Be careful and don't put too much pressure on the drill and break the glass and make sure it's held securely before you begin also. Go to a supply house like wwwgrainger.com, mscdirect.com, or other local supply chain for industry Most of the machine shops around you have some idea of where you can get them .

origamiguy says: Sep 23, 2007. 2:16 PM

I used the 'Arizona' bottles and put sand in the bottoms to keep them from tipping over. I stenciled the shades and added a bulb. I sold these in a local craft store and after expenses I made $4. profit on each one.

bekathwia (author) in reply to origamiguySep 23, 2007. 2:22 PM

Cool! Do you have any pictures?

Flashmom says: Sep 19, 2007. 3:04 PM

My son made one from a Grand Marnier bottle - short and squat and quite stable - and added a funky shade from Target. After seeing similar lamps at a local French restaurant, he just had to have one for his dorm room for "mood lighting"!

bekathwia (author) in reply to FlashmomSep 19, 2007. 3:10 PM

Awesome!!

judelizowski says: Sep 5, 2007. 3:49 PM

This is an awesome instructable!!!! i am making one right now!!!!! great job on this 1!!

!Andrew_Modder! says: Sep 2, 2007. 3:40 PM

... hello BAWLS lamp :D (R)

bekathwia (author) in reply to !Andrew_Modder!Sep 2, 2007. 3:49 PM

I find that champagne and other larger-scale bottles are weighted better for this application. A top-heavy lamp is a fire hazard, especially with a cat in the house. This bottle is also at a good height for most desk tasks, where most soda bottles are just too short.

!Andrew_Modder! in reply to bekathwiaSep 3, 2007. 7:16 AM

...true... true... ok then... hello Jolt Cola Lamp!! filled with somthing, lol to weight it down a lil! ;D

HamO says: Sep 2, 2007. 4:07 PM

Well done, except for the cord running outside. Why not run it inside and drill a hole at the bottom. I would be surprised if HD didn't have a drill bit which would work. Otherwise a nice Instructable. I too would go with a larger wine, champagne bottle.

bekathwia (author) in reply to HamOSep 2, 2007. 4:12 PM

Thanks for the comment. The particular threaded rod I used wasn't wide enough for the electrical cord to pass through, plus I wanted to do it with minimal tools for a quick afternoon project. I agree that it would be cooler with a hole at the bottom. The most recent issue of CRAFT magazine has an article about how to do this process, including the hole at the bottom of the glass drilled with a masonry bit.