WALLPAPER A LAMPSHADE
If, like many people, you’ve put up wallpaper recently, using the offcuts for a DIY lampshade could make the perfect activity for a rainy afternoon. It’s an affordable way to match your lampshade with your walls or introduce pattern into a plain room.
YOU WILL NEED:
Wallpaper – Choose your wallpaper carefully, make sure that the pattern is right for the size of the lampshade & think about the orientation of the pattern. A roll of wallpaper may not be wide enough to fit round your shade widthwise. Therefore you may be cutting the wallpaper longways. It may be a good idea to measure your shade ( How to step 1) before you choose your wallpaper.
Lampshade – Drum lampshades are the easiest shape to cover . The cone shaped Semi Drum lampshade is more complicated. With cone shape shades you will need to make a paper template of the shade and use this as a guide to cut your wallpaper. You will be cutting a curved shape rather than a straightforward strip of wallpaper. You can buy a lampshade kit if you want to make one from scratch.
Tape Measure
HOW TO:
Measure both the circumference and the height of your lampshade. Add 1 cm to the circumference, to allow for a small overlap. You will be wrapping the wallpaper over the top and bottom wire ring of the lampshade so allow for an overlap of approximately 1cm either side (2cm in total).
Using the craft knife and mat cut your wallpaper to size. Don’t forget to take into account how the pattern will look once on the shade.
Stick the double sided tape to the top and bottom rim of the lampshade. Ensure you stick the tape so that you can fold it over the wire rim, so half the tape is on the outside of the lampshade and the rest is on the inside rim.
Lay out your cut wallpaper. After removing the outer layer of the double sided tape place the lampshade on the wallpaper. Making sure the lampshade is lined up straight carefully roll up the wallpaper round the shade. It should stick to the sticky tape.
Use another piece of sticky tape to join the overlap of the two ends of wallpaper.
Finally wrap the top and bottom wallpaper overlap round the wire frame. This should stick to your double sided tape.
This DIY project was recently featured in the Telegraph
The instructions given here are for guidance only and are given in good faith but without warranty, since skill of application and site conditions are beyond my control.