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Ikea Wall Light Hack

How to customize Ikea’s inexpensive plug in wall lights and give them an antique brass finish.
Navy and white master bedroom with layers for fall.
 
 
Mark and I both love to read at night, and I had a vision of wall mounted sconces on either side of the bed.
L/Number Four Eleven, R/Gwyneth Paltrow’s apartment in the Huffington Post
 
I love these wall sconces with metal shades from Shades of Light. They would be perfect if I wanted to spend $600 (yep, $295 each!) on reading lights. Since we all know those funds are badly needed for the eradication of the kitchen’s bologna countertops, clearly they weren’t even an option.
 
Shades of Light
 
Enter Ikea’s Arstid wall lights – $19.99 each. 
 

The gooseneck of the Arstid is similar to the Shades of Light sconce, and I thought the lampshade that came with it could possibly be reworked. At the time I did this project the Arstid only came in this silver finish but now Ikea also sells the same light in a brass finish so all you need to do is revamp the shade! 

 
 
Here is what I ended up with after hacking Ikea’s Arstid wall lights.
 
Total price per light, including supplies, less than $23.
 
 
 

IKEA WALL LIGHT HACK – HOW TO APPLY AN ANTIQUE BRASS FINISH

 
-SUPPLIES-
Ikea’s Arstid wall light (this is the brass version!)
(don’t forget to buy the coordinating lightbulb!)
scissors
Goo Gone or adhesive remover
painter’s tape
gold spray paint
black acrylic paint
paper towels
plastic cord cover (see below)

one

Start by removing the fabric from the shade. Work carefully so you don’t dent the plastic shade base.

Some of tape that holds the fabric on at the top and bottom is stitched at the seam – after clipping the stitches it’s easy to remove the fabric tape and material. The plastic shade base is attached to the inner metal frame with stitches also, so be careful not to clip those stitches.

After removing the fabric from the shade base, a bit of adhesive residue remains at the top, and a lot at the bottom. Goo Gone on a paper towel will take off the bit at the top, but is impossible to remove entirely from the bottom of the shade. The photo on the left below shows how apparent the adhesive is after being spray painted, so I went to plan B – cover up the adhesive at the bottom of the shade with painter’s tape.

Place a long piece of painter’s tape on your work surface and slice in half with a utility blade so the strip of tape is only about 1/2″ wide, then place it over the adhesive and wrap it over the edge of the shade. Use your thumb nail to smooth out any wrinkles. This gives the edge of the shade a more finished look when painted.

two

Next, spray paint. If you didn’t score Ikea’s brass Arstid and are painting the body of the light, cover the lightbulb socket with painter’s tape before spraying all the components with several light coats. Make sure to spray your shade’s inside as well as out. Hold your shade over a lightbulb to see if you have given it good all over coverage, otherwise when you turn on the light you will see imperfections.

Good riddance cheap looking white plastic parts!

three

“Antique” the gold finish.  After everything was dry, I gave all the pieces an antique brass finish like I did on the ping pong ball curtain rods.  A tiny bit of black acrylic paint is all you need to tone down the bright gold of the spray paint (right) and give it a little more dimension (left).

To apply the black paint, wet a paper towel and ring it out so it is just a bit damp, then dab the paint on it. The dampness gives you more time to rub the paint on and then off the piece. This is especially useful for applying acrylic paint onto a painted metal surface (like the wall lamp base). On metal too much water makes the paint sit on the surface of metal in little droplets, so jump a slightly damp paper towel is all you need to make the paint easier to work with but not so thin that it won’t stick to the surface.

Wipe the paint onto the piece, and then wipe off to leave a sheer residue of the black over the gold spray paint.
Note:  the paint really clung to the tape at the bottom of the shade, and was near impossible to remove. I ended up respraying one shade, letting it dry, and then went VERY LIGHTLY on the tape.

The 3 little stitches that hold the plastic lampshade base to the metal frame at the top are still visible after painting the shades. I thought this, along with the visible tape at the bottom of the shade, would bother me, but once the lights are mounted to the wall those imperfections are barely noticeable.

 

 
 
four

Install the cord cover. I used an inexpensive plastic cord cover with an adhesive back that I spraypainted along with the light components. For an upgrade you could use a real brass cord cover.

 
I kept the plastic cord cover in one piece until I mounted the lights on the wall, then I used scissors to cut pieces to the desired width, tucking the end of the cover behind my headboard.
 
They are a similar finish to the ping pong ball curtain rods.
DIY curtain rods with wood dowels and ping pong balls!
 
While I still love the inspiration sconces and their real metal shades, I’m really happy with how the knockoff version came out – and not just because my version is a whopping $272 less!

What do you think?

If you like this Ikea hack, don’t miss how I used these same wall lights along with metal planters to make these lights for my daughter’s room!

ikea-wall-light-hack-ii

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Ikea Wall Light Hack With Antique Brass Finish

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Comments

  4. Jenny says

    Wow! I had to do a double take on your before and after shots! Great hack, and a great look! I love the antique brass against the Gentleman's Gray – so classic and timeless!

    Reply

  6. Cathy Wall says

    Now that is an impressive hack! Love the color/finish you chose and your vision! They look great mounted on the wall above your bed.

    Reply

  9. Tracy Laverty says

    Lisa- this is a great D.I.Y. I love how the lights look in your room above your bed! Amazing job! I've been planning on doing this same look on the lights in our library. Beautiful look. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  14. pam {simple details} says

    Lisa!!! What an impressive hack clever girl, they look so high end, I'd never guess Ikea! I like how the tape finishes off the bottom nicely, too! And, against your wall color – holy cow, gorgeous!!

    Reply

  15. Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles says

    You are smart, smart, smart! I never would have considered those sconces with the awful pleated shades, but your makeover is fabulous! I love your painter's tape trick for the edge…must remember that! Those sconces just took your whole wall up another notch or two! Gorgeous!

    Reply

  21. Dana Frieling says

    I. love. this. hack. Why, oh why, must these lights be so insanely expensive? So glad you outsmarted the system, Lisa!! They look beautiful in your room.

    Reply

  24. Keya Davis says

    oh my goodness – this is amazing! I have been wanting those lights so bad, so, so bad – I hope you are okay if I do a little rip-off of your hack. Best thing I've seen in so long!!!

    Reply

  27. Kim @ Plumberry Pie says

    Genius! I'm a bit behind in my blog reading. 😉 Lisa, I love how this turned out! Want to do this when I move back to the states. Hope all is well. Haven't made it to Ireland yet, but would love any tips from you to start planning. Take care and happy new year!

    Reply

  31. theappreciationfactor says

    Really BEAUTIFUL job. Was referred to you by May Richer Fuller Be and will be back. While I don't have a need for these – I found myself WANTING to make these and make the need. I'm also thinking I could do this project for above the fireplace as it has plugs for scones, but none. I think I'll spray them silver.
    Thanks again for the idea and inspiration!
    TAF theappreciationfactor.wordpress.com

    Reply

  32. theanatomyofdesign.com says

    so clever! what can't gold spray paint do?!? these look fantastic, especially against you dark wall.

    Reply

  33. Stephanie says

    Hi! so clever! What brand/color of gold spray paint did you use?? Golds can be so different 🙁

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      Stephanie I can’t recall the exact one I used but it was most likely either a Rustoleum or Krylon. They are my go-to spray paints. Another reader shared that Ikea just came out with a gold version of the Arstid light by the way!

      Reply

  34. Alyson says

    IKEA now sell the lamp in a brass color – the shade still needs work but the base color is similar to yours.

    I actually went to Ikea to buy the lights and copy your hack and was so relieved to find them in brass.

    Reply