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Thursday, January 17

When Your Lampshade is Too Big

Okay, so I just made my lamps all spiffy with some ORB spray paint, and then picked up a couple nice (& cheap) lamp shades at Ikea to finish them off, only to get home and find out..... they don't fit. Wop wop. Don't you hate it when that happens? I just found out, who knew lamps & shades weren't universal?!? Luckily they were not fitting in the too-big-for-the-lamp way and not in the too-small-for-the-lamp way so I found a way to make them work that way easy and totally free! Here's how:

Grab a piece of sturdy cardboard from the recycling bin (don't have any? Ask your friends!) and trace around the top of your lamp.


Next grab the lamp shade and line up the inside ring so it is centered around the circle you just drew. Now trace around the outside of the ring.


Use an exacto knife to cut out the center circle, then the outside circle to make a ring. Slide the ring onto your lamp base (you may need to trim it just a bit more to get a good fit).


Set your lampshade on the ring and center it around the lamp. Use a couple pieces of scotch tape to secure it to the cardboard and keep it from sliding around.


Pretty easy, right? :)


I'm loving how these are turning out! They are a much better size than the old Ikea lamps.



And I feel like they fit our style so much better.


And they look pretty sharp with our new nightstand...


...and antique dresser!


I do think I'll do something with fabric or paint to dress the shades up. I don't think I like how they disappear against the walls. But, you know me, I don't like to rush into things. I like to think about it for a loooong time... and then decide to rush into it. ;)



But in the mean time I'll just make a crib tent with Baby B! Which is a little sad, because I just realized these are his last crib pictures! He's graduated to a toddler bed! Big boy. ;)


He wanted his favorite animal book and just laid in there looking at the pictures. Because he's funny and he can't help it.


Any ideas for spiffing up my lamp shades???

28 comments:

  1. Nice tip! I have a lamp that could use that - right now the shade just teeters if you touch it :)

    I saw this on Wild Olive the other day - stitching on the lamp shade - it's beautiful and could be a neat idea for a subtle pop?

    http://wildolive.blogspot.com/2013/01/project-stitching-lampshade.html

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    1. Ooooooh, that is so pretty! Thanks so much for the link!!

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  2. Thank you! I just used this tip to make a new Nate Berkus lampshade fit my mother-in-law's old lamp that I just spray painted. :)

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  3. Thank you for the "too big" lampshade tip! Bought mine weeks' ago at Ikea and it's been sitting on the side... followed your instructions and lampshade where it should be :)

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    1. Must just be an ikea thing! Maybe they use different sizes than everyone else, I know they do for faucets. :)

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  4. ...What an absolute genius solution !!! Thank you so much !

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  6. Thanks so much for this! I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how I could make my lampshade fit. I've searched at Home Depot and Hobby Lobby for some kind of ring to make it work, with no luck, and all along a solution is sitting amongst scraps!

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  8. Wow - after coming to find out my lampshades were bigger than the bases - I googled to search for answers and came across this article on the first page on Google. This article/post actually saved me from searching store to store or online for a lamp shade adapter. The instructions is very straight forward and it did exactly what it's supposed to do - hold the lamp without tilting or collapsing! I even tested it after it was successfully placed to see if placing my hand next to it with a little bit of force would make it collapse. And it didn't! It still stayed where it was supposed to. Pure innovation! Thanks Georgia for this innovative and useful article!

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  9. I am currently having this problem, but I'm curious if using regular tape (instead of electrical) and a piece of cardboard is a fire hazard? Or maybe I'm overreacting?

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  10. I am currently having this problem, but I'm curious if using regular tape (instead of electrical) and a piece of cardboard is a fire hazard? Or maybe I'm overreacting?

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    1. Hmmm, I'm not really sure about that. For my lamp the cardboard is pretty far down from the actual socket and it doesn't get hot or anything. But of course use your own judgement and if it makes you uneasy don't do it! :)

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  11. Thanks for the DIY shade fix!!! I thought I was going to have to get new lampshades. Now, I'm all set. It took ten minutes for two. Thank you thank you thank you. One of the best DIYs I've ever found.

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    1. So glad it worked for you, too! And yay for not having to spend the $$ on new shades. :)

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  12. I just wrestled with a lamp shade for way to long, then found this and worked! Thanks so much!

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  13. When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I purchase four emails sticking with the same comment. Can there be that is you’ll be able to eliminate me from that service? Thanks! 카지노사이트

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  14. Hey! thank you for this brilliant idea ! Saved me my money !!

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  15. Thank you for this tip...I was struggling with this!!!

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  16. Can this method work for ceiling fixtures? If so, would I have to change any steps? I got up to the cut out part of it and then later realised it was instructions for a table lamp and and not a ceiling light. Thanks

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  17. Thank you so much!! This has helped me fix floppy lampshades that have been bothering me forever! :)

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    1. Glad to hear it! Floppy lampshades are the worst!

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  18. I'm so happy that I came across this article! I bought two lampshades that were too large, and now they fit!

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