Scavenger Chic

Cabin Ready – Rustic Log Lamps

• By Joan
• July 30, 2020
• 2 Comments

Rustic Log Lamps

We’ve lost a few trees in our yard over the years.  Sometimes it’s from disease, sometimes bugs and sometimes the weather is to blame. Instead of hauling all the trees to the dump or the firewood pile, I  may have one more option for you.  

If you see beyond the grunge, that dead tree is definitely a pair of lamps.  And yes, you can still use the leftovers for your cozy fire next winter.

This tree has everything you’d want in a lamp base…it’s straight, and you can drill a hole thru the center. And that is pretty much everything you need in a base. 😀 

With a circular saw I cut off all the extra limbs and branches.  BTW, this is (was) a Leyland Cyprus which does have tons of branches.

Cut the branches as close to the log  as possible.

The height of your lamps is up to you, but I do like to make my lamps fairly close to the length of my drillbit.  It’s easier to drill a hole straight thru than trying to meet up in the middle…more on that in a second.

Sand off all the rough branch cuts.

For each lamp, you’ll need 2 circle plaques available at Michaels,  JoAnns, Hobby Lobby and of course Amazon.

Look for plaques that are a little larger than your log.

If needed, sand the wooden plaques then paint with red chalk paint.

When the chalk paint is dry, paint on a layer of antique wax and wipe off the excess.

After the wax drys, buff the wax with a piece of fine steel wool.

With a drill and a very long  3/8″ drill bit, drill a hole the length of your lamp. The drill bit needs to be at least half the length of your lamp so that you can drill from both sides and meet in the middle.   If you can, drill from only one side , that’s even better, you won’t have to worry about meeting in the middle. The 3/8″ hole allows the lamp nipple to fit snugly.

You’ll need a Make-A-Lamp Kit which comes with everything you’ll need for your DIY lamp.  I won’t go into all the nitty gritty details about wiring a lamp but will just refer you back to my earlier post on wiring a lamp.  Don’t worry it has tons of pictures.

Once the lamp wire is threaded up thru the log, you can use a few finish nails to attach the red wood plaques to the top and bottom.

Use a dark stain on the fresh cut branch stubs so they don’t look quite so fresh cut.

I gifted these to my sisters who just happen to have a cabin in the woods.  The lamps are perfect for a rustic cabin setting.

If the rough wood of a Leyland Cyprus doesn’t fit your decor, I hope you can find inspiration from one of my other DIY lamps.  If you like to upcycle, I’m sure one of these would fit your decor.

As always, stay inspired.

Related posts:

Upcycled Jack Stand Lamps