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| Sleek and Stylish Desk Lamp |
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Issue
#314 - August 2009
The role of a desk lamp seems simple on the surface: It must adequately illuminate your work area. But many interior designers will tell you that lighting is one of a room’s most overlooked features. If you purchase a boring, run-of-the-mill desk lamp, you’re cheating yourself of an opportunity to add a creative edge to your decor.
LED desk lamps are emerging as a way to get bright lighting that offers a sleek, sophisticated look you just can’t get from lamps with conventional bulbs. But you could easily pay $100 or more for some LED models. That’s |
why we’ve created this contemporary lamp for DIYers who aren’t content to settle for expensive off-the-shelf lamps.
If you’ve never worked with lighting before, you couldn’t find a much easier introduction. Since the project calls for a bright LED fixture from the home center (UtiliTech, #288741), the difficult wiring is done for you. Plus, the base and structure are easy to assemble from poplar and aluminum tubes. We used two types of tubes: 1" square tubing and ½" round tubing. Both are available in various lengths at the hardware store or home center.
You’ll just need a jigsaw to cut a square hole in the base, and a hacksaw or miter saw to cut through the aluminum. If you have access to a drill press, it will make quick work of drilling straight holes through aluminum. If not, you could also use a portable drill guide to help you make the holes. After that, it’s just a matter of cutting the low-voltage fixture’s power cord, feeding it through the aluminum tubes, and splicing it back together with the help of heat-shrink tubing. |
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