DIY Wall Lamp / Sconce With a Shelf Made With Hand Tools

I have a very small living room which means I don't have any room for end tables and I don't have a place to put table lamps or floor lamps. So to add more lighting, I came up with this design for wall sconces that incorporates a shelf that can double as small end tables. I made them using standard materials from the hardware store and only a few hand tools like a drill and a hand saw and because they are plug-in wall lamps, they were easy to install in my rental apartment.

Step 1: A Lot of Experimenting

The design come together after a lot of tinkering and experimenting!

Step 2: Make the Lamp Base

I built each component for the lamp separately, starting with the lamp base. I made it with 7" embroidery hoops, square wood dowels and foam board, which I covered with 3/4" iron-on wood edging and 2" wood edging around the side. I used a pre-wired lamp kit I had on hand but you could make your own as well.

While the construction is fairly simple, there are a lot of steps that were best explained in video format - you can see that video and download the template I used on my website. I designed the lamp base so that you can have the lamp shade face up or down, giving the ability to make many different lamps with the same basic design.

Step 3: Make the Shade

I made the lamp shades using flexible chopping mats and 4" embroidery hoops. I experimented with a couple different options to finish the shades, wallpaper and mica flakes. For the mica flakes, I used Mod Podge to glue them onto the shade - very easy! Again, this is shown in more detail in the video. Because of the narrow shade, I recommend only using LED light bulbs with lamp project.

Step 4: Make the Shelf - Optional

This is completely optional but I decided to incorporate a small shelf in my design to act as end tables in my living room. I made it the same way I made the lamp base with foam board, but using 1"x2" furring strip instead of square dowels. I covered one side with wood edging and for the top, I used mica flakes like I used in the lamp shade, but this time putting on a thicker coat which I covered with a high gloss resin.

Step 5: Connect the Lamp Base and Shelf to the Middle Piece

To connect the lamp base and the shelf together, I used 1/2" x 6" pine boards and molding. I also added some squares dowels to the sides to complete the lamp. The middle board and top and bottom boards can be any length you want, depending on the look you're going for. I finished the wood with a semi-transparent stain I had on hand (Behr semi-transparent stain in a color called Pinto White).