I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of saying to someone “I can turn anything into a beautiful lamp.” Below are some of the projects past and present. Hopefully this will give you a sense that if you have something you love and wish to give it a new lease of life, turning into a beautiful lamp might be an option for you. Get in touch and I’ll see what I can do.
Info
Most of the projects I am into follow the general theme:
- Take something that already exists and give it a new lease of life.
- Use waste or upcycled materials wherever possible.
- Use super-low energy components.
- Design it to be usable!
The Propeller Light
Several years ago, after reversing my boat into a river bank, I messed the propeller and had to replace it. Rather than throw the old one away I worked out how to turn it into a touch-sensitive dimmable bedside lamp. I simply reach out in the dark to touch it, and voila. No more fumbling around for a switch.
The Handlebars
I saw a similar thing on a wall in a cafe in Norwich. Although it wasn’t a lamp, I figured out how to turn an old set of handlebars and an old Brooks saddle into one. It’s now an outside lamp that is connected to a smart switch and sensors. It sheds a nice, focussed light into a corner of the garden.
Keyboard Light
There’s a huge amount of 3×2 timber that is thrown away each year by the construction industry. I wanted to do something useful with some of it. My son asked if I could make a low-level light that just illuminates the area around his keyboard, and could be plugged into his laptop or desktop. This was the result. It’s USB powered using hidden LED strips and gives good working light for those late night keyboard sessions.
Loft Light
When I looked at a sad pendant light dangling down in the centre of a newly converted loft I knew it needed to be replaced. However, the client was creative so rather than do the usual thing and stick an LED panel up, I found some wood left over from the renovation and used that instead. Using reflective LED bulbs, they created a beautiful diffuse light that bounced off the white ceiling, and didn’t dazzle you as you came up the stairs.
Heart Wall Light
It was one of those days when I came back from the tip with more than I went there with. I saw this old cheap candle-lamp and instantly saw it as a valentine’s present for my girlfriend. However, it was March so it was a bit late. I had forgotten the month, and also the fact that I had already made her something for the correct day in February! It was made of cheap wood, so I took a burner to it and with a bit of work it ended up as you see it. The smoked spiral bulb worked well during the day as it was highly reflective, and at night projected a beautiful warm glow through the heart-shaped windows.
Work Lamp & Traffic Lights
I vaguely remember when these yellow paraffin-burning lights lined the roadworks, half-heartedly glimmering. So for nostalgia I wired one up with a LED flame-bulb and connected it to the sensors around the workshop. To some people’s alarm, at night it genuinely looks like it is burning away and gives as much light out as it used to, which is not much. The traffic light is wired up to a 4 channel smart switch. It lights up red when you enter the driveway, green when you are close to the house, and does all sorts of other pointless things too. I can tell it to turn on too, as Alexa is built into it.
Cartwheel
A client had a rather large covered outside dining area attached to their barn, and wanted it lit up. So, the little dangly bulb they were using was suitably retired. Being a large area, it needed a large feature light and we came up with the idea of using an antique cart wheel suspended from the ceiling. Importantly, the light needed to be lit from above to highlight the wheel without the light-sources being visible, and contain a direct wide-beam downlighter to illuminate the outside dining area. The biggest challenge was the weight, at about 60Kg it wasn’t easy getting it up high to test out the wiring concept!
Smart Drum