How to Make Your Own Retro Lamp

The Base

• 1

  Look in your parents' and grandparents' attics to find interesting things from long-gone eras that can serve as the base of your lamp or as the lampshade. Search for vases, boxes and baskets. Find the pieces for the base of your lap.

• 2

  Search for items that represent the era for the lamp base, for example, ceramic figurines. Use a ceramic vase or a figurine thick enough to handle having a hole drilled through it.

• 3

  Use a disco ball if your era is the '70s. Find an old E.T. toy from an online auction and use that as your base if the era you chose is the '80s.

• 4

  Purchase a lamp kit from a home improvement store or a lighting store. Buy top loading kits for easier installation or a clip-on lamp kit. Lamp kits include a harp, socket, cord, switch, wiring post and rubber stoppers.

• 5

  Weigh down the base by filling it with sand or rocks. Fill clear containers with voter buttons from the time period, colored beads, ceramic shards, sand or any weighted objects that will add a distinct look to the lamp that matches the era.

• 6

  Assemble the wiring post by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Test stoppers provided in the kit until you find the one that fits your lamp base.

• 7

  Drill a 3/8-inch hole in the top of the lamp base if there isn’t an opening already. Cover the area around the section that you will be drilling with tape to preventing it from cracking.

• 8

  Thread the wiring post through the middle of the stopper. Tighten it in with the washer and locknuts. Screw in the lamp socket opposite the stopper.

• 9

  Turn the socket end upwards and insert the wiring post into your base unit. Push it in until the stopper is secure. Attach the lamp harp to the lamp base.

The Lampshade

• 10

  Find a lampshade shape that fits the period. A used hat box is reminiscent of some of the popular lampshade styles from the '50s and '60s.

• 11

  Use a plane lampshade from another lamp that you were throwing out. Add fabric or wrapping paper to the outside of the shade. A shiny silver wrapping paper is reminiscent of the '70s.

• 12

  Trace the bottom of the lampshade while rolling it across the fabric. Then, trace the top. Cut out your fabric.

• 13

  Lay your lampshade down in the middle of old newspaper. Spray it with a glue adhesive. Go psychedelic for a '60s feel and cover the outside of the lampshade with loud colored tie dye fabric. Go with earth tones for the shade and add tassels to hang from the shade for a '50s appeal.

• 14

  Rip the balancing rod out of an old lampshade that you want to get rid of. Cut it down to size if it doesn’t fit or bend it with pliers.

• 15

  Fit the rod to the inside of your lampshade. Measure the shade by fitting it over the harp. Determine where the rod should be place for a natural fit. Mark it with a marker. Glue the rod to the inside of your lampshade. For lampshades with nontraditional shapes, drill a hole in the top of the shade. Glue in a washer underneath the hole.

• 16

  Test the lampshade and rod by placing it on top of the lamp harp. The screw at the tip of the harp should fit into your lamp's balance rod. Secure it with the bolt.

• 17

  Screw in a bulb. Secure your lampshade. In the book, “The Complete Book of Retro Crafts,” Suzie Millions advises to have a trained professional look at the lamp before you plug it in. Plug the lamp into a surge protector just in case you didn’t secure something properly. Turn the light on.