Luxe Adventure Home: DIY Wine Cork Catcher Lamp

A few months ago we spent a few days at a wine spa and I really liked the understated wine decor. The wine barrel table and wine cork catcher lamp were elegant, yet fun accents that would perfectly fit the home decor of oenophiles just like us. Every time I passed the lamps, I studied them and decided I could easily recreate them with a do-it-yourself home project. Not to toot our own horn, but we think our two lamps turned out great! Follow this easy step-by-step tutorial to make your own stylish wine cork catcher lamp for less than $20:

What You’ll Need

• Ikea HEMMA Table Lamp Base $5
• Ikea JARA Lamp Shade $8.99
• 5 Liter Demijohn (like this one from Amazon or check directly with a winery if you have one nearby) $2 – $7
• Corks (about 150 per 5 liter demijohn)

One of our finished cork catcher lamps

 DIY Wine Cork Catcher Lamp

1. The demijohn may come in a plastic basket. Cut the basket off. Clean the demijohn, if necessary. You can use a bottle brush to scrub the inside. Let it completely dry.

2. The Ikea Hemma Table Lamp Base comes in three pieces all already attached by the cord. The lamp needs to have the base removed, so you need to cut the cord to remove the plug, making sure you leave yourself as much slack as possible.  Remove the base plate from the cord.

*If you are going to drill a hole in the demijohn to feed the cord through the bottom, you’ll need to complete this step before re-wiring the plug to the cord. You’ll need a special glass drill bit, like this Bosch Glass Set.

Re-wiring the cord is simple: just strip back some insulation with wire strippers (even scissors will work), connect the wires back together and seal them up tightly with electrical tape.  This may not be the preferred method for something that would see a lot of use and handling, but for a lamp cord that will rest inside of the demijohn, it works just fine and won’t be seen once filled with corks.

3. For a 5 liter demijohn, we needed about 150 corks. Fill the demijohn with corks, regularly shaking the demijohn to even the corks out. Once you’ve filled the demijohn, wiggle the lamp pole and cord in to nestle in the center of the corks. You may need to shake it to once again even the corks out. There should be enough corks in your demijohn that the lamp pole securely stands straight.

4. Screw in the light bulb and attach the lampshade.

And as easy as that you have a wine cork catcher lamp for less than $20 and about 15 minutes of prep work. Or, you can also purchase a ready-made one, like this one for $159.95.