Customize a standard living room floor lamp with a conical rattan shade for an easy and unique living room addition.

When we got the daybed in the living room, I quickly realized that the floor lamp we had didn't work the best. The floor lamp we had was on the shorter side and projected the light downward. Basically, when I tried to read when it was dark outside, the way the light reflected just didn't give me enough light.
It was pretty and fit the space, but it just didn't work well.
I don't like to rush purchases so I just worked with what I had and kept my eye out for a new lamp that might work better for my space. I quickly found the most gorgeous marble floor lamp that had a conical rattan shade and fell in love.
Look at how beautiful it is!
I loved everything about it except the price. I just couldn't justify a purchase like that, so I started trying to find a good replacement. I found a few and will link them for you, below, but none just spoke to me the way the original light did. So, I waited.
A few months later, I had remembered that Ballard Designs had a gorgeous rattan conical lampshade very similar to the one above. That got me thinking about the idea of piecing together my own lamp to have a budget-friendly but one-of-a-kind piece.
You know me. I'm all about tiny customizations to make my heart and eyes happy. I want my house to be "me" and not to look like it could all be bought out of a catalog. I want a true representation of my style and to get that, sometimes (a lot of the times), I have be willing to be creative.
Spoiler, I found a budget-friendly Target floor lamp and pieced together a cool, new look for my living room. It doesn't really need a tutorial but let me share the three things I purchased if you want to do the same thing.
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Rattan Lamp Shade Floor Lamp Supplies
- Black metal floor lamp
- Rattan lamp shade (mine is the 11" conical shade)
- Universal lampshade adaptor
Uno fitter to clip-on fitter for the floor lamp
When I unboxed the floor lamp, I realized that the green and white plaid shade that came with the lamp was a uno socket lamp shade (UNO fitter). The rattan lamp shade that I bought and was going to use had a harp fitter. From past experiences, I knew that there were clip on fitters (also called lampshade adaptors) to make the lamp and the lampshade work together.
Here's a visual to help explain.
Customize a Floor Lamp with Conical Rattan Shade
I started out with a basic metal floor lamp that had the height that I wanted. Here's the exact one that I got from Target.
From there, I ordered the conical shade and when I got it, I realized that I would need a bulb converter. It was as simple as buying the bulb converter and putting it all together. Let me show you what the clip on bulb shade attachment looks like so you can get a visual.
Honestly, it's so simple to make a few lampshade changes. You can also change the harp sizes if you wanted a lampshade to sit higher or lower on the lamp.
Here's how the floor lamp looks in my space.
I just love it. It feels unique and true to my style yet it was decently affordable and easy to do. I'm selling the green and white plaid lampshade, so it's not going to waste, either.
We've done quite a number of light and lamp projects, hacking one this way or that, and I will say that very rarely (if ever) have we not been able to find parts to make different lamp/light components work.
I wanted to point that out so that you don't get deterred from taking a step to customize your own light.
I think this project is so fun if you are looking at affordable living room lamps. You could easily customize it with a different woven shade in a different shape or even thrift a base instead of buying new. But, if you are looking for options that are ready to go, I did round up some that I like. Just make sure to check the height on them to make sure the height will work for your space.
Shop look-a-like floor lamps
Curious about other lighting projects? Here's a few OLD ones.
Blast from the past: 2013-2014 projects
My style has changed quite a bit in 10+ years, right? I actually still love the idea of both of these projects. I think the DIY Pendant light and the firetruck lamp would have been amazing today with a mix of vintage pieces and better room styling around them. I could stick rock them, I think. =)
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