Choosing a New Design for Your Home and Garden

If you enjoy DIY and are in the process of redecorating your home, you might like to consider making a lantern light shade from some old timber plantation shutters.  The lantern can look beautifully intricate, and you can also adjust the slats to create different lighting effects in your room. 

Here's how to do it.

What you'll need

• 4 skinny timber plantation shutters
• sandpaper (coarse and fine grain)
• paint and paint brushes
• wire wool
• stiff brush
• wood glue
• a cheap table lamp, minus its shade

You'll find everything you need for this project in your local DIY store.  The table lamp you need should be the kind with an on/off switch sited on the cable, rather than on the lamp itself.

How to do it

1. First of all, you'll need to remove any dirt and old paint from the shutters so that you can paint it.  To do this, just use a stiff brush to loosen any clinging dirt, and then go over the whole shutter with wire wool to shift any loose paint.  
2. Now you'll need to remove any paint that's left.  The quickest way to do this is by using a piece of coarse grain sandpaper, working right into the slats and corners of the frame, until all traces of paint are gone.  
3. Once the shutters are clean and free from paint, go over them with the finer grained sandpaper so that the wood is left smooth and ready to be painted.  
4. Take one of the shutters and cut a small notch into the bottom edge.  This is to accommodate the cord from your lamp when the shutter shade is placed over it.  Sand away any rough edges.  
5. Next, paint the shutters.  If possible, hang each one somewhere so that it's hanging in free space.  This makes it easier to reach all parts of the shutter without having to continually turn it over.  
6. When the shutters are completely dry, apply a second coat of paint if required.  
7. Now form the shutters into a box shape and stick them together with strong wood glue.  
8. When the glue is dry, place your naked table lamp in place and set the shutter shade over the top of it, making sure that you slot the lamp's cable into the notch on the shade.  Switch on the lamp and adjust the shutters to filter the light as required.

In conclusion

You can make an unusual and practical table lamp shade from old timber plantation shutters by following the guidelines above.  Why not try using coloured light bulbs to complement your décor scheme or to add an interesting twist to patio lighting?