Scavenger Chic

Vintage Shutter Lamp DIY

• By Joan
• October 18, 2018
• 14 Comments

On my last post, the shutter magazine rack,  I mentioned that my neighbor had brought me over 2 old shutters.  Well, this is what became of the second one.

That picture above, the $120 lamp, that’s not mine, that’s my inspiration.  I’m seeing how close I can duplicate it. My slats are a little wider than my inspiration piece, but I think it should still work.

I have done another shutter lamp before,  and they are both constructed basically the same way, but that was with the interior shutters. This inspiration piece looked like it was just begging for my exterior shutter.

This one could get expensive if you don’t already have a bunch of scrap wood laying around.

For this lamp, of course you’ll need a shutter, maybe 2.  I used a full shutter and the leftover slats from the magazine rack.  You’ll also need a lamp kit, 12″ of a 6×6 post, scrap 1″ pine and 1/4″ scrap wood pieces.  The only thing I didn’t have on hand was the corner moulding of which I needed 4 ft.

If you run a jigsaw up the sides of the shutter, the slats will pop right out.

For two sides, cut your slats  the width of the 6×6.  I used 7 slats per side allowing for a tiny overlap, just like a shutter.

Attach the slats to your 6×6.  I’m using a nail gun because it’s super quick and has saved me many a purple thumb.

The other two sides of shutter slats will be a little longer than the first two sides since they will go to the edge of the other slats.  Measure.

Use the same amount of slats you used for the first two sides.  Center the push rod, or tilt rod  (I had to look up what that thingy was called) mark your cut lines from the measurement you took in the last step.  Cut and nail.

Cut the corner moulding the height of the lamp and nail into place.

Take another measurement from outside corner to outside corner.  With that measurement cut 2 pieces of 1 inch pine.

On a 1/4″ board cut two more pieces about an inch wider and longer than the last piece you cut which will give a 1/2″ border all around.

This piece of wood was destined for the trash, it’s one of the drawer bottoms I pulled out of the dumpster dresser.

Use that drawer bottom piece as a pattern for one more 1″ pine piece.

All stacked up and ready to assemble.

Glue and nail all your pieces together.

Four more blocks of wood create the feet.  Again, glue and nail.  I also added a small piece of quarter round, mitered at the corners.  This piece is optional.

With a drill and a very long Spade Bit, 3/8-Inch x 16 Inches , drill a hole the length of your lamp.  Always start drilling from the top that way you know your top hole is centered.

I gave all the new wood pieces a coat of medium gray chalk paint.

After the gray is dry,  dry brush on a layer of sand colored chalk paint, followed by a layer of white.

If you’re new to dry brushing, it’s just what it sounds like.  Pick up a small amount of paint with a brush,  knock even more paint off the brush by dabbing it on newspaper, then use your almost dry brush to  cover your piece.  Random, scribbly strokes worked well for this piece. With each coat allow some of the previous layers to shine through.

For my birthday this year my son gave me several paintbrushes because when he was painting his Maryland flag he thought my collection  of brushes were sad and pathetic.  Yes, this is a sad little chippy brush that I’m using  but it works perfectly for this project.  It’s only an inch wide, so it fits inside the neck of those little chalk paint jars and it has lost a lot of it’s bristles so it doesn’t pick up a lot of paint…perfect for drybrushing.

I would give you the full tutorial on how to wire a lamp, but I’ve already done that, so check out this post from 2014.  I still refer back to that post every time I wire a lamp.

The frame from the shutter transformed a plain wall mirror into something fantastic, you can find the full tutorial here.

Until next time, stay inspired.

Shared at Metamorphosis Monday,

Talk of the Town, DIY Salvaged Junk Projects,

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