A Table Lamp From Plastic Bottles

Who would have thought that by using a few empty plastic cold drink bottles you could not only recycle them, but also have a stunning floor lamp.  Anyone can make this gorgeous floor lamp and all you really need are some empty 2-litre plastic bottles.

Step 1: Cut Your Plastic Bottles

For this project you need the top section of the bottle as shown. Cut at about 5mm below the decorative line on the bottle. If your bottle doesn't have a decorative line you will have to guestimate where to cut.

Please don't throw the other section away - we have tons of recycling crafts on www.Home-Dzine.co.za that show you how to make use of what is left over.

Step 2: Join the Bottles Together

I placed my bottles in hot - not boiling water - to make them easier to work with for joining the two top sections together. I am not going to say it's easy, as it requires a bit of fiddling around, but after a while you will get the hang of it. 

Where you cut 5mm below the decorative section is where you want to have two top sections joined together. The hot water also helps to 'pop' the bottles back into shape if they become dented. You can also use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke inside and pop dents out.

Step 3: Cut Off the Neck

I did this a bit backwards and would suggest that you cut off the necks BEFORE joining the bottles together.  I used a Dremel Multitool and cutting disk to  remove the top of the bottles.  You will see why later on.

Step 4: Make Connectors

To hide the cut neck of the bottles and add a decorative effect I cut up a cardboard tube from inside a roll of wrapping paper. This was wrapped in aluminium roofing tape which is self-adhesive on one side. 

Step 5: Assemble the Lamp

The joined bottles and connectors are threaded onto a 20mm diameter piece of PVC conduit pipe, same as that used by electricians around the world.    Now the lamp is starting to take shape.

I must also add that I sprayed the bottles with Rust-Oleum frosted glass spray before doing the actual assembly, as it matched the base I was planning to use.

Step 6: Add Wiring and Lampholder

After threading electrical wire through the pipe, I added a lampholder onto the top of the pipe and secured this in place with epoxy glue.  This stuff is strong, so try to use the same.  I also wrapped a cut strip of duct tape around as well for added strength.

Step 7: Add the Base

My base is the glass light cover off an old ceiling fan that I had been keeping for just this reason.  I cut some 16mm MDF into circles and drilled 20mm holes into these with a spade bit so that it would securely support the weight of the lamp and keep it upright and straight.

If you don't have something you can use for the base, cut MDF to size, spray it with metallic paint and voila!

Step 8: Add the Lamp Shade

Here is the finished lamp with the lamp shade now added.

I am pretty chuffed with how the floor lamp turned out and now have plans to make a matching table lamp as well.  Apart from the cost of the shade, the lamp cost me nothing and made good use of plastic bottles to boot...!