Don't Toss Your Prescription Bottles: Transform Them Into A Unique Lamp
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While lamps layer lighting, supplying rooms with depth and warmth, dated fixtures might be doing your space more stylistic harm than good. Even if you recognize this possibility and decide to upgrade an old lamp or create a new light display, it's easy to overlook how the soft, colorful glow that prescription medication bottles emit near light can elevate spaces.
You can upcycle prescription bottles to produce creative lampshades — or even a new lamp, like TikToker Sarah Teresinki did using pill containers, a glass jar, some glue, and a candle. A torn or discolored shade may seem useless, but you can repurpose that metal frame with some wire or string to hold your medication bottle decor. Alternatively, pill bottles can be attached to the shade itself.
This clever, customizable way to reuse prescription pill bottles is conducive to tall standing lamps or tabletop fixtures. No matter how you do it, you'll need a good number of medication containers to get started.
How to craft a fun lamp with prescription pill bottles
Before making your lamp, peel off the bottle labels and remove their lids. If any adhesive remains, white vinegar is a simple DIY solution that you can use to remove sticker residue.
Next, remove the shade's fabric covering, which will typically leave you with a frame containing an upper and lower metal ring. Hang the medication bottles from the rings to create your unique decor. With a sharp tool or a drill, create a small hole in the bottom of each container. Ensure the hole is positioned directly in the center of the plastic. Now, thread a piece of clear string, like fishing line, or thin wire through the opening, knotting it on the inside. Tying small beads to the string will help you hold the bottles in place before you tie the end of the wire to the lampshade frame, which allows each bottle to hang.
@lotuslazuli666 Replying to @Unnecessarilylong Make this at your own risk!!! side noted: do not use hot glue & don't use stretchy string I tried that first then realized wire works better. If u have any questions lmk!! #lampshadetutorial #lamptutorial #diylamp #diylampshade #diylampshades #diylampshadeideas #diydecoridea
Work around the lampshade, creating even rows of bottles. If you have extra bottles and want a longer lampshade, suspend multiple bottles from a long piece of string.
Alternatively, you can glue prescription bottles onto a lampshade's exterior. With a standing lamp featuring an open, bowl-like shade (such as a torchiere floor lamp), you may be tempted to create a bottle dome over the light using an interlocking glue strategy. However, this design poses more risk than reward. Torchiere floor lamps generally produce immense heat, presenting fire risks, even if you leave air gaps and have low-wattage bulbs.
Creating a new light fixture from prescription bottles
If you'd rather craft a brand new, glowing feature for your home, you can still use up those leftover prescription pill bottles. For this hack, TikToker Teresinki attached her medication containers to the outside of a repurposed glass jar. With hot glue, she secured the orange bottles onto the glass in rows, starting from the bottom of the jar. She placed the containers upside down to hide their openings.
The DIYer was able to fit three rows of the colorful plastic containers around her tall jar before placing a candle inside. Just use an electric candle to avoid thermal shock hazards. For extra convenience, use a remote-controlled and battery-operated light. On Amazon, a pack of two puck lights with a remote is about $13 and allows you to change the light's color. Set your unique DIY lamp on an end table or countertop to bring creative brightness to your decor. If you don't have a tall enough jar, a basic cylindrical vase, like the clear glass vase for $1.75 from Dollar Tree, would work as a substitute.