Working plan

Knocktoberfest Tripod Floor Lamp

When Lindsay from Makely School for Girls invited me to participate in her blog hop, Knocktoberfest, I instantly said yes!! Its a blog hop between 29 amazing bloggers featuring budget friendly, knock off projects inspired by high end items! There have been some AMAZING projects, make sure to check them all out here!

If youre coming over from Laura - Finding Home, welcome! If not, make sure to pop over and check out her fabulous project LOVE it!!

We recently moved and are getting settled, but we managed to find a few tools and pull together a fun lamp inspired by Design Within Reachs Tripod Floor Lamp.


























We havent unpacked all of our tools yet, but we found just enough to make a lamp.



























2x4 - cut to a circle and holes were drilled to hold the legs / 1/2" copper plumbing pipe - 1 10 piece cut into three even sections / we didnt need everything in a lamp kit so we sourced our items separately - a nut, wire with plug, socket, and a threaded nipple. / black spray paint to paint the 2x4 and the wire / lampshade

I missed a few photos, but Ill try to explain along the way, feel free to ask if I miss anything :)

Heres how we did it!

We created a template to mark where the holes would be drilled and then held a template to mark the angle of the drill (removed once we started drilling). Since this wasnt precise, we had to go through three variations until we had one that was even. Not the best way to go about it, but worked with our limited tools :)

Click HERE to download a template of our hole placement and the template for the angle (we cut the pieces out and taped the hole placement to the wood and held the angle up prior to drilling and then removed once we started drilling.) There are multiple copies on the page in case you need extra, they are all the same. Print on 8.5x11 paper.

** the pipe measures 1/2" INSIDE, 5/8" on the outside - yep forgot to measure - we had to make a trip back to get the 5/8" bit since we needed it to be precise.


We cut a notch in the middle for the socket to sit in.

Next, using a cup, we marked a circle around our holes, cut it out with a jigsaw, and sanded down it down with an electric sander.


We drilled holes in one of the copper legs for the wire to fit in. Next, we threaded the wire through one of the legs and wired the socket.


I then taped the legs and socket and painted the mounting piece (wouldve been easier before assembling :)


While the paint dried, I polished the copper legs. I liked the color as is, but wanted to remove the red text. I rubbed it with ketchup and let it sit for about 30 minutes (note, make sure that it is out of reach of pets, kids, etc. - annabelle, our puppy, got a taste) I then used a combo of cleaner (to remove the ketchup residue some of the text came off too) and then nail polish remover to erase the red print.


We reassembled and then turned it on - it worked!



























The cord runs through a leg and out a hole drilled on the bottom. We also used copper end caps to finish off the leg.




This is actually our first floor lamp - I love the height that it adds!


After getting the supplies, we finished the lamp in one evening and spent about $34.50.

Cost breakdown:

1 - 10 copper pipe cut in three even sections - $10 (Home Depot)
3- Copper end caps, .50 each - $1.50 (Home Depot)
Wire - $2 (Home Depot)
Additional lamp parts - $3 (Home Depot)
Lamp shade $ 18 (Target)
2x4 section (Scrap pile at Home Depot)

$16.50 for base + lamp shade $18 = $34.50, sure beats the nearly $400 price tag at DWR!


Im up last for the tour - so make sure to head back to Lindsays Makely School for Girls to catch any of the projects that you might have missed!!

or catch up here!

Monday, October 21 1.  Lindsay - Makely School for Girls

2.  Beth - Home Stories A to Z

3.  Gina - Shabby Creek Cottage

4.  Beckie - Infarrantly Creative

5.  Emily - Decorchick!

6.  Wendy - The Shabby Nest

Tuesday, October 22 1.  Donna - Funky Junk Interiors

2.  Jess and Monica - East Coast Creative

3.  Jackie - Teal and Lime

4.  Jen - Tatertots and Jello

5.  Carmel - Our Fifth House

Wednesday, October 23 1.  Chris - Just a Girl

2.  Lindsay - The White Buffalo Styling Company

3.  Melissa - The Inspired Room

4.  Ana - Ana White

5.  Marianne - Songbird

6.  Karianne - Thistlewood Farms

Thursday, October 24 1.  Roeshel - DIY Showoff

2.  Sandra - Sawdust Girl

3.  Jamie - C.R.A.F.T.

4.  Cassity - Remodelaholic

5.  Melissa - 320 Sycamore 6. Mandi - Vintage Revivals

Friday, October 25 1.  Ashley - The Handmade Home

2.  Stacy - Not JUST a Housewife

3.  Traci - Beneath My Heart

4.  Brooke - All Things Thrifty

5.  Laura - Finding Home

6.  Sarah - Sarah M Dorsey Designs