I've been blessed with an overabundance of chinoiserie china pieces over the past few months, so I though it was time I began sharing some of them with you! First up: one thrifted, tall chinoiserie vase that I handily turned into a cordless lamp!
While out shopping with my son recently, I found this gorgeous, tall chinoiserie vase at an antique mall. I was immediately drawn to it, although I admit I was afraid to look at the price. I'd previously seen similar-sized vases selling for prices way out of my range.
Well, the thrifting gods were with me that day! While it was still marked above my comfort zone for thrifting vintage items, it was less than I expected - $32.00. Yes, it was still a real splurge, but with Mother's Day right around the corner I quickly rationalized that price away!
I also felt that this chinoiserie vase was unique in that it had "handles" on either side, shaped like beautiful leaves.
Plus it's super tall and it came with a wooden pedestal! Which is what gave me the idea to turn it into a cordless lamp.
Many Asian-inspired lamps have a wooden octagonal base at the bottom just like this one. How could I not think "lamp"? While I saw this trick somewhere on social media, I can’t recall exactly where. Suffice it to say that this hack is beyond easy and is, in my opinion, absolute genius!
Supplies For Making a Cordless Chinoiserie Vase Lamp
1. Tall chinoiserie vase (or any tall vase)
2. Cordless rechargeable light bulb with remote
3. Uno style lamp shade in the correct size (see notes on sizing below)
Making a list of 'instructions' for how to make the cordless vase lamp seems a bit silly since it's so easy to do. You just place the lamp shade over the vase and then insert the cordless remote controlled light bulb down into the socket. The lamp above has not been turned on yet.
Then, using the remote, turn it on. But beware the size of your lamp shade! As you can see from the above photo, if the lamp shade is too large for the vase neck, you run the risk of creating a weird lighting scenario where the light is only visible through the top half of the shade. (I was using one of the more yellow options here.)
However, if you use the correct sized shade, you can create a beautifully lit remote-controlled chinoiserie vase lamp.
The lamp shade was sized such that when I placed the cordless light bulb inside and turned it on the light fully lit up the entire shade.
I was very happy with the cordless light bulbs I chose. They have three different lumen levels (brightness) as well as three light colors: warm white, natural and day. And each lumen level is dimmable with three strengths! The timer has four settings which I love.
I found the charge to be good for an average of 6-ish hours (they claim 5-10 hours), and (don't be surprised here, folks) charging the light bulb takes somewhere around 5-6 hours. The good news is the bulb comes in a set of two, so you can use one bulb while you're charging the other. The remote has a very good distance range as well.
Just think, you can try this with any tall vase (or vessel) you already have in your home. AND you might also be able to use a lamp shade you already have! So all you'd need is the rechargeable light bulb! Doesn't get any easier than that!
Well, that's it for today, friends!
I hope you've enjoyed reading about
How to Turn a Vase into a Cordless Lamp
and that I've inspired you in some way.
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Leave a Comment!
I love this idea! But I don't understand what keeps the lightbulb from falling down into the vase. And what does the shade rest on? Please give a few more details, and maybe some pictures of the assembly without the shade on the vase. Thanks for a great idea!
Thanks for your comment Patricia! The wire inside the uno style shade is actually what rests on top of the vase and keeps the shade in place. The bulb is then placed inside the wire opening made for the bulbs. If you look up "Uno style lamp shade" you should get a much better idea of the shade used and the process I'm describing. Good luck!
What a beautiful vase and I love the lamp!
This is so clever and what a wonderful idea. This way you do not ruin the vase if you want it back to being a vase. Beautiful. Hugs. Kris
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