Monday, April 25, 2011

Home-made Pottery Barn/West Elm Lamp Knock-Off


I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter weekend.  Mine was great, and in case you missed it on Friday, I have the next three weeks off!

For the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing details from some of the projects I've done to finish up my living room revamp and by the end of this week or the beginning of next week I'll have pictures of the whole thing.

This first project (finished product pictured above) was so easy and cheap, and it turned out great.  I love home-made things that don't look home-made.

I had been looking for a lamp like these since I put my living room mood board together.
via

via

The first one is from Pottery Barn and it's $100 and the second on is from West Elm and it's $150.  Maybe I wasn't looking in the right places, but in over a month of searching I never came across a (much) less expensive knock-off. 


So I decided to make one myself.  I've had that glass jug for a few years, I already had a shade I wanted to use and I've seen lamp kits in Lowe's.  The last piece of the puzzle was to figure out how to put a hole in the bottom of jug .  With only a few minutes of research I learned that I needed a ceramic cutting drill bit.  I made a little trip to Lowe's, spent about $18 to get the lamp kit and bit (I got the 5/16" bit), and I was ready to work. If you don't have a Lowe's nearby,  the following items are similar and can be found on amazon. 

via

via
Time to drill!  I put a piece of tape on the jug in case it cracked while I was drilling.  I was pretty nervous at first and I imagined the whole thing shattering in my hands. 

Thank goodness it did not shatter, but it did take for-ev-er.  I'm talkin' about five minutes of holding the drill in the same place to make one hole.  Finally the hole was big enough for the cord to fit.

From there all you have to do is follow the directions on the lamp kit packaging.  I only had to make one adjustment  The stoppers that are included in the kit were all too small for the opening of my jug, so I used a little hot glue to create a seal so the stopper would fit.  The hot glue worked great and you can't even tell it's there.

Here's the finished product again:
And here's what it cost me:

New money spent:
  • drill bit: $8
  • lamp kit:  $10
$18 is pretty good for a solid PB or West Elm knock-off.

Here's what it would cost if all the parts had to be bought new:
  • bit and kit:  $18
  • jug:  $10-$15  (The shelves of HomeGoods, T.J. Maxx and Marshall's are littered with glass jug thingies.  Mine was $15, but I've seen ones the same size for $10.)
  • drum shade:  $15 from Wal-Mart's Canopy line
$43-$48 is still less than half of what it would cost to buy the Pottery Barn Eva lamp.  

***OOPS!: I forgot to mention that you may need a lamp harp and the prongs depending on the kind of***
          shade you have.  The harp and prongs aren't included in the lamp kit, but they're also sold at Lowe's.


I'm super excited about how the lamp looks in my living room and I'm looking forward to sharing more projects and eventually the entire room.

*This post contains affiliate links*

Have a great Monday!

I'll be linking up to...





50 comments:

Unknown said...

So gorgeous! you did a great job!!

Kim @ keller-creative said...

Oh I love this! What a great idea.

Leen said...

I love your lamp! I posted today about a very similar one :)

Andrea said...

So cool. I love it. I have a vase similar to this from Homegood's. I think I'll give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration.

Diana said...

That looks great, better than the inspiration! Awesome job!

Miss Kitty said...

I saw your post over at "The Lettered Cottage". I am loving oldish looking bottles right now and I LOVE your lamp! I was wondering "How is she going to hide the cord?" but it is not even noticeable. Great job!

Aaron said...

Thanks for the sweet comments!

Miss Kitty,

The cord was something I worried about too, but when I looked closely at the PB lamps I saw that their cords weren't hidden either. I figured if they can get away with it, so can I!

junkgarden said...

I love it. I've been wanting to do this for awhile.

Ashley White Interior Design said...

Awesome Pottery Barn knock off! I love the texture of the glass you used. Beautiful! :)

Karen said...

Hi I'm visiting from Layla's How To's Day . I love this lamp . It turned out fabulous. Love these type of projects. I'm your newest follower,please drop by sometimes.

Dana said...

I just saw this in a catalog for $199. I was wondering how to DIY it. Thanks!

Amy said...

Fabulous! Enjoy your next three weeks off :)

Cait @ Hernando House said...

Great job! I just saw this on Layla's How To's Day, too and I love it!

Rachael said...

i SO love it!

Unknown said...

It looks so great! Thanks for the tutorial!

Lindsay @ Delighted Momma said...

SOooo impressive! This turned out amazing!!

Delighted Momma

kara@elements-interiors.net said...

Well DONE! I love it! Im your newest follower!

I would LOVE to have you link up to my Whassup Wednesday Par-Tay! And I have a party button you can grab and put on your blog so your friends can come too:)



If you are NOT already a Follower of Elements Interiors....HELLEEERRRR!

Click that Google Follow button and YOU will be ENTERED in my

"Its a SURPRISE!" GIVEAWAY to be announced EVERY MONDAY! Yeppers! You read it right,

a Winner EVERY MONDAY!!! With GREAT Goodies you wont want to miss!!




Hope to see ya at Whassup Wednesday!!!

*ENTER LINKY PAR-TAY Here! *

xoxokara

Kathy Pierce said...

I've been wanting to make one of these forever, this looks super easy! Excited to be a new follower!

Red, Blonde and Burlap said...

I've been wanting to make one of these forever, you make it look so easy! Excited to be a new follower!

Lisa @ Shine Your Light said...

I love home made that doesn't look home made, too, and cannot believe you made this!! It looks so great and EXPENSIVE, truly! Nice job!

Sunshine and Lavender said...

Love this! Thanks so much for sharing your tutorial at The Shabby Chic Cottage :)
~Alison

Brandy J. said...

I just found your blog and am your newest follower. Thanks for creating such an inspiring blog. I LOVE this lamp and you can't beat the price.

Little Sprinkles Of Fun said...

That is awesome! I love the lamp!

Anna Whiston-Donaldson said...

Great job! Thanks for the how-to!

LisaM said...

Amazing!!!!

Remodelaholic said...

This project is totally amazing! It looks fabulous! I would love to invite you to come and do a guest feature post about this on my blog Remodelaholic. If you are interested, just send a reply to this comment and I will get you all the details!

Thanks!
Cassity

Angie Holden said...

Okay that is ah-mazing!!

Dannette said...

I absolutley love it. You are so clever!! Hugs & Smiles, Dannette

Brenda Watts said...

Wow !! LOVE this !! great job, it is so beautiful.

Katie @ EyeSpyDIY said...

That lamp is amazing! What a great job and I would be so nervous too to drill into the glass!

Aaron said...

I'm super flattered by all the attention my little lamp is getting! Thanks so much everyone.

Cassity, a guest feature post sounds great!

Unknown said...

I'm in love with this lamp! I just moved into married student housing and there isn't very much light at night so I've been looking for easy and cheap DIY lamps I could do and I'm so excited to try it out. I would love it if you could come check out my blog Newlyweds on a Budget at www.morganandkari.com

Kari

From G2B said...

Love this! I've had my eye on these lamps for awhile too and dare I say, I like yours better!

Ever - The red house by the lake said...

I have what looks like exactly the same glas jug at home. Wonder where they come from?`

The lamp is amazing! Fantastic work, really!

Sonya said...

I LOVE this! We're working on a living room re-do and we have a VERY small budget. I found some old (and I mean OLD!) wine jugs in my in-laws shed that I was wanting to bring into the room somehow. I think you just gave me the inspiration I needed! Thanks for sharing!

Lil Mama Stuart said...

came crom Centsational girl - very nice! totally doesn't look "hand made" :)

gertie @ The Old Block House said...

Your lamp is wonderful. Love this project!

My teenage son has some old jugs that he wanted to sell, but I told him I didn't think they'd move. Seems I might be wrong. I'll pass this along to him, but I think the glass company might be safer for the drilling done. It's been awhile since either of us has had a trip to the ER and I'd hate to tempt fate.

www.theoldblockhouse.blogspot.com

Wonderfully Domestic said...

This is inspiring! I've got a perfect vase for this project and I think I'm going to have to give it a go :)

kristin shyla said...

I have been wanting a lamp like this!! I think I am going to phone Nate Berkus and tell him about you ;0

Steph @ Birdhouse said...

Looks amazing! I've been waiting to find the right vase/bottle to try the same thing myself. Thanks for the inspiration!

Hyphen Interiors said...

Looks awesome. You make it seem very simple. Thanks for the tutorial

Ila said...

Looks amazing and thanks for the tutorial! I will have to start checking out the shelves at Homegoods to update our bedroom!

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Great tutorial and the lamp is fabulous. You did a wonderful job. Hugs, Marty

Tracy@Musings on the Pretty said...

Hi Aaron - this is fantastic! Lovelovelove it! Great job, and great tutorial!

Jill @ Craft in a Northern Town said...

That looks great! Nicely done. (Visiting from Whipperberry.)

Anonymous said...

wonderful job! I love lamps and completely heart yours <3

Anonymous said...

PERFECT TIMING in finding this post! I've been wanting to do the same thing but wasn't sure how to drill the hole. Thanks so much!

dana @ craftedniche.wordpress.com

Andrea @ Decorating Cents said...

I love this. You were featured http://decoratingcents.blogspot.com/2011/12/trends-knock-offs.html. Come by and grab a button.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tip on drilling thru glass. Just completed this project.

amyk5 said...

How is the glue holding up around the stopper? I have the same situation and am wondering if hot glue will last and support the socket and shade. Would love to find out the long term success of this project cuz I'm ready to dive in!

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