Restoration House Interiors: DIY Shim Pendant Lighting

Well, I wanted to share this a couple days ago but it was a bit of a fail. Mostly because I didn't have the tools I thought I needed to complete this project. Three days later and I'm done.

I thought I would pop on over and share this one with you. It's super easy (well, it would have been had I had everything I needed) and total time is only a couple of hours from start to finish.

WHAT YOU NEED:

Stain of your choice (I used Varathane Sunbleached)

Package of wood shims

Drum Lamp Shade or Frame only

Foam brush

Hot Glue Gun and Sticks

Sanding Pad (optional)

Light Kit (West Elm, Ikea, World Market)

Drop cloth or paper (to lay your shims on while staining)

If you will, please excuse my horrible pics. Some of these were taken at night and I just went with the bad lighting.

First, stain your shims. I used the Varathane brand in Driftwood. You can sand the shims before or after staining. I chose to leave mine in their natural state.

You see in the pic below that I'd also taken out my Rustoleum stain. The Varathane actually took less time to dry and saturated better so I went with it in the end.

Pre-stained images

Next, after brushing on your stain and letting them dry (the Varathane takes about 30-45 mins to completely dry) then line up your shims as you want to have them laid out on your lampshade.

Now, this can be quite the tricky part and this is also the reason I suggest a DRUM style shade and not a BELL style shade. Unless you are layering the shims, you DO NOT want to use a tapered shade. Trust me on this one. Unless you're really good at math and have a ton of time on your hands.

Otherwise, just trust me. Use a drum shade. Okay? Okay.

Now, once you have them lined up, you can begin gluing with your hot glue gun.

When beginning the hot glue process I actually used blue painter's tape to hold my shims in place until I was ready to glue each one. This was partly because I wanted to be sure that all of my shims fit perfectly onto my shade before gluing them all on.

A bit of a disclaimer...some of my shims didn't exactly line up perfectly at the end of it all but I was totally okay with that. If you're an extreme Type A, then just take the time to measure out your shade and shims to get each one on just right.

I chose to only apply the glue at the top and bottom of the shade to salvage it just in case I needed a shade in the future and NEEDED to take this apart. What? You don't think that way?

I'd like to call it Creative Proactivity.

And yes...that IS a word.

This is NOT the lampshade I ended up using. I did purchase this one from GW for only 3.99 but realized after I got home and after I measured it...that it was NOT a drum shade! Ah!

At this point, you're gluing away. Be sure you are not just haphazardly attaching the shims to the shade but that you are lining them up as best you can. Toward the end I left very small spaces between a few just to help them all line up properly.

And these are the results...

Total cost for this project: $20.00

I only had to purchase shims and the light kit.

I really am in love with the way it turned out, while not perfect, I love the rustic yet modern look the Sunbleached stain combined with the size and shape of the shims provide.

I didn't show it hanging in a room because I am honestly not even sure where I will use it or if I will even use it in this house at all as we move in just a couple of months!

Lots more projects to share and hope you will be inspired by this project to try this or something creative of your own!

Hope you guys are having the most wonderful Saturday...ever!

XO,