45 DIY Lampshade Ideas – The Best And The Brightest

We’re big fans of DIY home decor and we can’t stress enough how important it is to personalize a space in order to truly make it feel like you belong there. A home’s interior decor should be a faithful representation of its owners’ style and character so what better way to ensure that than by crafting some of the accent pieces and the decorations yourself. A DIY lampshade is one of the items with great potential for customization. The design possibilities are pretty much endless.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

We’d like to tell you that this lampshade can actually look cute but the truth is it’s spooky no matter how you look at it and this makes it a perfect craft for Halloween. To make something similar you need lots and lots of googly eyes. The green paint and the bats are optional but highly recommended if you want this spooky lampshade to actually look scary.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

You’re probably thinking you need a bunch of things to put together a lampshade but that’s not always the case. This folded lampshade is the perfect example. All you need here is a thick A4 piece of paper, some string, a few wooden beads and double-sided tape. It’s one of the easiest and most elegant and stylish DIY lampshades ever.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

You’ve seen how you can use paper to make a chic lampshade so now it’s time to check out a similar project which involves fabric. In this case you need a few more supplies which include lampshade rings, a self-adhesive panel, strong double-sided tape, cotton fabric and a tucking tool. You might be able to improvise if you’re missing some of these things and also to personalize the design of this fabric lampshade according to your own ideas.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

To make things easier, you could try to repurpose a few things, like a woven basket which could successfully be turned into a lampshade with only a few small modifications. Basically you just need to cut out a small square into the bottom of the basket so you can fit the socket through. You might need a lampshade frame too.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

A cool idea can be to trick the eye and to imitate wood with contact paper. You can use this trick when you’re making a lampshade or when you want to give an old one a makeover. It’s really easy and all you need to do is apply contact paper over an old lampshade. You can also decorate the base in the same manner.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

The shade is indeed the element that usually matters the most on a lamp but that doesn’t mean you can’t also be creative with other parts. A cool idea, for instance, could be to customize the base of a table lamp. A mason jar could do the trick. You can paint it or you can fill it with small pebbles, sand, coffee beans and other things. Use this strategy to make a unique mason jar desk lamp.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

One of the easiest ways to obtain a unique lamp design is by customizing an existing lampshade using fabric. Pick a pattern or a color that best captures the style which you’re trying to imprint on the lamp. It’s important to give the lamp its own unique look but it’s also important to look at the big picture and to make sure that the new lampshade doesn’t clash with the surrounding decor. As it turns out, covering the lampshade with fabric is the easy part.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

There are all sorts of variations of the ideas we just presented, each one focusing on a specific detail. This sweater lampshade for example stands out by looking extra cozy. You can make something just as cute and lovely for your own home. All you have to do is sacrifice an old sweater and use it to cover up an existing lampshade. You can find all the details on farmfreshtherapy.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Origami lampshades are among the most interesting and most fun ones and, as it turns out, they’re also pretty easy to make. Of course, this depends on the design you choose. The one shown here is simple enough to be aced by everyone. As you can see, it’s made out of wallpaper, not regular paper. This helps to give it a more firm and durable structure.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

You’re probably familiar with this type of lampshades. They’re very chic, metallic, graphical and they look amazing when paired with Edison light bulbs. What you didn’t know is that you can craft your own version out of wooden skewers. That’s right, this geometric lampshade is not metallic….that’s just spray paint.You can find out more about how to put something like this together on isoscella.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Isn’t this lampshade exquisite…and can you believe it’s made out of a plastic bottle and some rope? It’s amazing what a creative mind can come up with given a few random resources. Here’s how it goes: you take a plastic bottle and you cut off its top. Then you apply some silicone glue to the bottom and you start wrapping rope all around the bottle until you cover it all up. You can also paint your new lampshade if you want. Don’t forget to make a hole at the bottom for the cord. {found on ohohblog}

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Another really cool idea is to use faux plants to make a truly unique lampshade. It’s something that we learned from reaktionista. You can get really creative here so feel free to choose any type of faux plants you want and to arrange them however you think it’s most beautiful. Keep in mind that the lampshade needs to be practical as well as beautiful so find the balance between these two elements.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Wooden beads can also be an importance resource when designing custom lampshades and even chandeliers. You can find an interesting tutorial on how to make a beaded lampshade from scratch on green-bird. The project starts with an old lampshade frame which is decorated using various types of wooden beads on thin wire and tassels made of yarn.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

The accordion folds on this lampshade are reminiscent of vintage lamps and have a really special charm that’s hard to obtain when dealing with DIY crafts. In this particular case, aluminum foil was used hence the metallic finish. You can replicate the look using other materials that are similarly flexible and easy to work with. Find out more details on ludorn.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

You’ve seen how easy and effective it can be to decorate the outside of a lampshade but what about the interior lining? That can be customized too and, as it turns out, there are some really cool ideas you can use for that. One is to decorate the interior of the lampshade with maps. The inspiration for this comes from pillarboxblue. Here you can find a detailed tutorial related to this project.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Paper and cardstock are incredibly versatile when it comes to handmade home decorations and accessories. One of the things you can make using cardstock is a folded origami lampshade. It’s relatively easy to make and once in place it looks incredible. Follow the instructions on docrafts to find out all you need to know about the folding technique and feel free to combine any colors you like.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

If you can find some fabric with a galaxy print you should definitely get some because there are a lot of cool things you can do with it, including giving an old lampshade a makeover. For that you’ll need a few other things like some spray paint in metallic copper and black, some etching cream, black acrylic paint, a hot glue gun and also a few adhesive stars although these are entirely optional. {found on vikalpah}

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

This may sound like something grandma would do but don’t jump to conclusions just yet. We came across this cute lampshade while browsing creativejewishmom. It’s been decorated with crocheted trim and we think it’s just lovely. If you check out the full tutorial you’ll find instructions that teach you how to make your own colorful trim from scratch. Of course, you might be able to ask grandma for some help…

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Pictures are among the most effective things you can use to decorate a space, especially if the goal is to make it feel more personal, more like you. You can use pictures in a lot of different ways, including to customize a lampshade. Well, actually you’d need to use slides for this. The really cool thing about this is that the light brings the slides to life. Find out more about this idea on redhousewest.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

With patience and a bit of time you can do a lot of cool things, including a very stylish and elegant lampshade. Let’s talk specifics. This gorgeous lampshade featured on heatherednest is made using thin fabric, a circle cutting tool, a hot glue gun and a plain and simple lampshade in need of a makeover.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Time and patience are also important if you want to make a geometric lampshade out of cardboard, more specifically the one featured on one-o. The polygonal pattern is pretty cool and, as you can see, there are definitely a few imperfections visible to the naked eye but that just makes the lampshade more special, giving it an authentic, artisanal look.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Some lampshades are basically begging for a creative makeover. Just look at this one…take away the colorful stitching and it will look naked, incomplete, as if it’s lacking the thing that made it special and beautiful in the first place. You can stitch quirky patterns on just about any fabric lampshade. Actually it doesn’t even have to be fabric. Just let yourself be inspired by this makeover. {found on missamyphipps}

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Now that we’ve agreed that stitching is fun and great for customizing lampshades and all sorts of other things, check out another funky project based on the same idea. It comes from refabdiaries and it only requires a few simple supplies: two cylinders cut from a can, cross-stitch fabric, acrylic paint, glue and embroidery floss. There are lots and lots of ways to improve or to personalize this project.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

A really cute and at the same time very simple way of customizing an existing lampshade is to just stick some paper, felt or cardboard cutouts on the inside of the lining so their shapes can be seen on the other side. You can attach them with double-sided tape and you can pick any theme you want. Personally, I like butterflies so I made some out of paper and I decorated by floor lamp with their silhouettes, just as shown on pinkstripeysocks.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Paper fortune tellers are these fun little crafts kids make without even realizing how complex they really are. We found a way to take these things to a whole new level. Actually, we’re just sharing a project we found on craftandcreativity. The idea is to make a bunch of paper fortune tellers of different colors or with different patterns and to use them to decorate the outside of a plain lampshade.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Show off your best instagram photos in a cool and interesting way: on your lamp. First you need to print them out and then you have to glue them onto the lampshade. Just make a collage and mix and match the photos however you want. You can pick a theme that suits the room. For instance, a nursery room could have a lamp decorate with baby photos. {found on millionmoments}

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

A plain and cylindrical lampshade is ideal if you want to dress it up as shown on thecrafttutor. All you need here is ribbon…lots of it. Figuring out just how much ribbon you’ll need can be tricky. When calculating this, keep in mind that you’ll need to wind the ribbon vertically around and around the lampshade and then you’ll have to do the same thing horizontally.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Instead of ribbon you could use rope in a somewhat similar manner. In fact, why limit yourself to rope when you can really get creative and use colored yarn or other similar materials to really make your lampshade stand out. Think of this project featured on blogalacart as a source of inspiration meant to unlock your potential for coming up with unique ideas.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Geometric, graphical and abstract designs are often associated with the contemporary style and that’s usually due to their minimalism. It’s this simplicity that we find most charming in the case of this DIY lampshade featured on weekdaycarnival. All you need in order to make something just as cool is some hollow metallic tube and some twine. Thread the twine through the tube and then start bending.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Maybe…just maybe you’re in the mood to try something a bit more complex so we’ll just leave this boho chandelier here for inspiration. It’s a surprisingly easy craft so don’t let yourself be intimidated by its looks. Embroidery hoops, fringe, rope and glue…that’s all you need for this. Sure, if you want you can add some elegant trim as well but that’s entirely optional. Feel free to pick any color and to make the chandelier as big as you want. You can actually simplify the project and make a regular lampshade instead if that’s what you want.{found on hometalk}

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Don’t you love jute? We’re in love with its retro, shabby-chic look so naturally we just had to show you how to use it to make a simple lampshade look awesome. Expect a simple and cozy look with a little bit of coastal charm, much like what you see here. You can find all the details related to this home project on thehomemadehome. There are obviously numerous possible variations of this project but for some reason we like it just the way it is.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

There’s another really cool DIY lampshade idea that we absolutely fell in love with. It comes from emmmylizzzy and it has to do with doilies. Can you believe it? Doilies…those outdated things grandma used to make look so stylish, delicate and inspiring it’s hard not to be amazed. Sure, it takes about 24 hours to complete this project but it’s all worth it. Here’s how it all goes: you take a balloon, you inflate it (ideally it should be round) and then you place the doilies on the balloon and you paint them with school glue until they’re soaked. Let them dry for 24 hours and if necessary touch up some areas that aren’t stiff enough and let the doilies dry some more. When it’s done, blow up the balloon. Don’t forget to  leave a hole for the lamp kit to fit through at the top if it’s a hanging pendant lamp you’re making.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Have you ever played with transfer paper? You can do a lot of cool things with it. Practically it opens up a window to tons of awesome DIY projects. Today we’re only focusing on how you can use it to customize a lampshade. Actually, the most difficult part about it is finding a theme and then a specific image, silhouette or pattern that you want to display on your lampshade. Find out more on hello-piepmatz. Here you can also find this cute squirrel printable.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

The floral print looks beautiful on this lampshade and adds a nice pop of color to the bedroom. Also, you can make one just like it if you want to and everything you’ll need comes in a complete kit. You can definitely adds your own twist to the design if you want to or create something similar inspired by this look. Whatever the case may be, head over to placeofmytaste if you want more details.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Some ideas come as a surprise and those are usually the best and most inspiring ones. For example, we found this tutorial on homemade-modern which explains how you can use concrete mix and plastic bottles to make amazing-looking lampshades and pendant lamps. It’s not every day you see something like this so it might be worth to give it a try.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

If you don’t want to make the entire lampshade from scratch you can simply choose to give your existing one a makeover. Similarly, you can go find a plain lampshade that has the size and shape you’re looking for and then decorate it. To make it look extra cozy, a cool idea can be to repurpose an old sweater and make a nice cover for it. It’s an idea that comes from unskinnyboppy.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

This sure looks like a stylish pendant lamp and on closer inspection you might be able to tell that the lampshade is actually made out of two plastic bowls. That’s right, anything can be repurposed if you have a creative mind. To get that perforated pattern you need a drill and you’ll also require a rotary tool to cut out the out on the bottom. Check out madincrafts to see the complete tutorial.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

If you have a lamp with a fabric shade and if you like to dye your hair in crazy colors you already all the ingredients to make an amazing ombre lampshade. Getting the effect just right and creating a smooth transition between the different shades can be tricky so be sure to check out the tutorial provided on annie-nilsson before you get started.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

This is also an ombre lampshade but this time the design is different and it’s made using yarn in different colors. The yarn was wrapped around the lampshade, gradually transitioning from one color to the next. The nuances used here are not exactly super similar so the ombre design is a bit different than what you might be expecting. Of course, you can customize your own version of this design however you want to. More details can be found on vintagerevivals.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Not all lampshades cover up the light bulb. Some are quite minimalist in that sense and this style is actually pretty popular right now. However, this is not a store-bought pendant lamp. It’s actually something that you too can make from scratch. For that, you’re going to need a few cocktail straws, some crafting wire, thick felt and some glue. Check out the details and instructions on pearlsandscissors.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

You can also make a more artistic approach when crafting your custom lampshade. A really great idea that we love to bits comes from dwellingsbydevore. As you can see, this lampshade looks like a gorgeous bird cage and it even has branches with cute little birds resting on them. Check out the tutorial to find out how you can make a magnificent lampshade like this one for yourself.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

An embroidered lampshade could potentially look really beautiful and don’t worry because you don’t really need to do anything out of your comfort zone. This is a faux embroidery lampshade design and to make it you need linen fabric, a hot glue gun, adhesive fabric spray and some white fancy cording which you’re going to use to decorate a plain lampshade. All the necessary info can be found on somuchbetterwithage.

Halloween Spooky Lampshade

Stencils are also very useful if you want to give something a makeover. This lampshade featured on decoart for example was made using some chalky finish paint and a fishtail stencil. The actual base of the lamp is quite unusual as well. It’s made out of a repurposed glass jar filled with shells and starfish. Everything about this lamp is special and inspiring.