DIY Swing Arm Lamp Knock Off

Ok, I’m pretty excited about this project because what I made for around $60 can be purchased for around $200. That’s my favorite thing, people! Getting a look I want for a fraction of the price. I won’t attempt to tell you the exact fraction because I’m CREATIVE. I try to not let things like math cloud my vision. Also, my husband will send me a text with the exact number and nothing else. That’s how we roll and opposites attract. Alright, back to the light. *this post contains affiliate links.

In the piano corner of our living room we needed some lighting. I had a floor lamp over there at first. It worked fine but it was either in the way of the piano bench or it took up space in what acts as a walk way through the living room and into the kitchen. I didn’t like the visual space it took up over there.

That’s when I thought about a modern looking swing arm lamp. It’s a great way to get lighting but without taking up extra space. Now, there are lots of great swing arm lamps on the market but the one I was looking for had to meet a few requirements. I wanted it to have a matte black finish. That’s the finish I’m going with in door hardware and most of our future lighting. (You can always mix and match metals but at least for the more permanent things, that’s what I’m going with.) The lamp had to be plug in. (We have an outlet that works with a switch so that’s handy) Then, it had to have a lamp shade. That was the tricky one. There are tons of affordable lamps like this:

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I love the clean lines but the shade was a must. 1. because I promised my main man that this house would have no exposed bulbs. He pretty much lets me do whatever I want to our house but he draws the line at light bulbs. I hear you, handsome. Your wish is my command. 2. We needed this light to actually light the room. Lamp shades really help to spread the light better than a bright spot from a light bulb.

There are also very modern lamps like this:

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I really love them but I feel like they may be a little too trendy for the look I want in our house. Plus without a shade, it’s more like task lighting and wouldn’t help us light the whole space.

The lights I liked and wanted were similar to this:

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and this:

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But with a price tag of $250 and $200 I decided, nope. I’ll figure out how to make my own. Here’s what I did..

I ordered this wall lamp:

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Crazy thing. This light is $55. There are different finishes of the same lamp for up to $20 more. No black though, so, if I was going to spray paint it anyway, might as well buy the finish that costs the least.

When the light got here I prepped it for painting by taping off the light socket and covering the wires in the back.

I made sure to give the lamp several light coats with dry time in between.

When it was all dry I brought it inside to assemble and wire it.

This model could have been hardwired but it also had a down rod for the cord which gave it a cleaner look without the wavy cord coming right out of the base.

After I wired it I plugged it in to make sure it was working before mounting it to the wall. Not impossible to fix but way more annoying to install it twice.

For the shade you really need a threaded UNO fitter. You can see it in the image below. It goes above the light bulb before you screw it in.

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I tried this one at target. It’s a slip UNO fitter so the light bulb was showing at the bottom and I had to return it.

I ended up using this IKEA lamp shade I already had on hand. They adjust to be a slip or threaded shade. Wizardry, I’m telling you.

This one is a blush color but they still sell them. For $3.99. You can find more expensive versions on Amazon or maybe places like At Home sell some similar.

I love our new lamp!