Minimalistic LED Wall Light

by Anybodysguess

37K56116

Intro: Minimalistic LED Wall Light

I wanted a unobtrusive light that could be run all the time to provide some illumination in my room even with the shade closed. I have been putting it off for a while but when I saw the Lamps and Lighting contest I knew I had to enter!

I am also entering in the Green design contest.

Every part of this light was recycled and I used LED lighting so I could run it all the time, so it draws very little power, it also uses a switch mode power supply which is very efficient.

Lets get started.

STEP 1: Materials

You will need:

A piece of thin plywood or luan.

A PVC pipe

LED light strips (mine came from a friend and were saved from the dumpster, I don't know what they are exactly)

A Switch mode type transformer (mine came from a old printer and is 24v, that is the voltage of my LEDs)

Also

Epoxy

Hot Glue

Soldering Equipment

STEP 2: Cut the Wood

I wanted the edges rounded so I marked it using the cap to my screw jar then cut it out on my scroll saw, (another tool I saved from the dumpster)

Sand the edges and surfaces smooth.

STEP 3: Cut and Attach the Pipe

Sand any words off the PVC then cut two slices to however high you want the light to stand off the wall. I would not recommend my cutting method as it is hard to get straight. Sand any burrs off the pipe pieces.

Now mark the center of the board and Epoxy the pipes to the board.

STEP 4: Paint

Paint both sides, paint the back white to help disperse light, paint the front to match your wall, or not, you can paint it another color, that might look cool.

Wait for the paint to dry. And don't forget to paint the edges.

STEP 5: Wire It Up

Wiring will vary depending on your LEDs and power supply, so I will just show what I did for mine.

I cut the connector off as this light is going to be permanent and I don't need the power supply for anything else.

The little glass jar is stuffed with steel wool and makes a great soldering iron tip cleaner!

STEP 6: Glue Lights Down

I glued the lights down with hot glue, then I finished soldering the second LED strip.

STEP 7: Hang It Up!

Put a nail in the wall and hang the light by the top PVC pipe.

It looks great and provides just enough background light for my room. In the future I may do something about the wire.

I had an idea of making a wall fixture that looked much like this but had some sort of mirror/lens arrangement and had a base unit that sat on the floor and shone a laser into the fixture, the effect being that there is no visible wires and the light seems to come from the "light" itself. I may try this later.

15 Comments

ajarvis5 9 years ago

Any idea where I can find small LED strips? It would be nice to have 2 color changing strips with a remote so I can just use the remote to control the lamp'd power and colors.

Anybodysguess 9 years ago

If you want something right now I would check in the Walmart Automotive section, they have color changing led strips with sticky tape on the back used as accent lights in cars, like in the door jams or something. But they are fairly expensive, if you can wait I would order something off of Ebay. Just search "LED strip", or "LED tape" Comes in all different liengths and colors. They even have RGB ones with a little remote so you can change the color.

knottywoodcrafts 9 years ago

Awesome project. I am all for manuka's idea of adding some sort of an attractive feature to place in front of the ply. Here are some ideas, a lithograph panel, scroll saw art with diffused glass, perhaps sandblast glass art. There are endless possibilities that can be used with this instructable. Great Job

Anybodysguess 9 years ago

I actually do plan on making a light up scroll saw art piece of some kind. I just haven't had the time to do it yet. I think that is the idea of Instructables, to make it your own, that is why my instructions are vague at times. You should make it however you want.

knottywoodcrafts 9 years ago

You are absolutely correct! I have more than a hundred items that I have created and sold world wide, Many of those items would make great Instructables. Perhaps I will look into the methodologies that others use to create their instructions and go from there. I like the Darth Vader scroll saw icon. Looks awesome

Anybodysguess 9 years ago

My profile picture is a piece of scroll saw art I made, but never did anything with, I may put a piece of frosted acrylic behind it, install LEDs and hang that up...

justinkuo 9 years ago

That's a great project. I may try something similar. You may be able to hide the power cord if you hang the lamp on a recessed wall outlet (like those used for electric clocks.)

Anybodysguess 9 years ago

I fully plan on hiding the wire to this one, or to a version "2.0" but I didn't have enough time to do so for the contest.

manuka 9 years ago

Great idea - modern LEDs are too bright to be shining directly in your eyes of course! But why not have something attractive in front of the ply? Perhaps a mirror or picture (as below on my den's recent trellis feature wall) ? The wires could be run more discretely then too.

Anybodysguess 9 years ago

That's a great idea you certainly could do that. With a picture like that I think I would buy some "LED tape" off eBay. I like the modern style of simple yet elegant furniture made of glass, stainless steel, etc (although I have yet to do a whole room that way) Most things I build either fall into two categories, for looks, or to do something, I don't usually combine the two, although I like the things I build that are useful to look nice they are mostly utilitarian.

billbillt 9 years ago

One of the more useful projects around..... Great job..... Double plus good..... Got my votes,,,,,

bcavaciuti 9 years ago

Awesome project and very well done indestructible, im looking for a light for the house im moving two and it has super low ceilings so normal pendant light arent an option and down lighting would a. be to much effort and intrusion and b. not fit with the old farmhouse so i might try something like this. Although i will need to put my own twist on it :D

Anybodysguess 9 years ago

Thank you, my camera is a 5MP camera phone so it just doesn't do it justice, it can't quite focus right with the light on.