Staircase Light

I got this out of control fetish for making my own lights. With this old Victorian Home I got my work cut out for me as the electrical service here is deplorable. Lights is just one issue with a single bulb fixture in most rooms, but I set out to change that.

It is kind of hard to see in the picture because it’s dark, but if I turn it on, it’s too bright. But it was made from a Hobby Lobby lantern at 50% off, then some sockets bought at Home Depot. Now the staircase has (4) 100 watt light equivalent bulbs making the stairs brighter and safer.

But maybe too bright. As you can see this staircase needs a lot of work, but at least the light is done.

For those that want to make their own lights, this cost $150 and took about an hour to build.

Steve Zoma wrote:But maybe too bright. As you can see this staircase needs a lot of work, but at least the light is done.

LOL! Indirect lighting hides a multitude of sins.

I like your light fixture as it seems to blend in with the decor of victorian.

If it is too bright I wonder if you can find something stick on at Hobby Lobby the would fit in the with stained glass look.

I suspect that 4x 40watt bulbs (=160w) would be plenty of light for a stairway. I do like the 4 bulbs so you never get caught in the dark when just the one blows out. Bright light would be helpful while sprucing it up, then adjust the wattage to how well it turns out.

But what I really want to know is how does it look from the street?! Is that stained glass window a "Bat Signal" to let the neighbors know you are up and roaming about the house?

Kenneth Elwell wrote:I suspect that 4x 40watt bulbs (=160w) would be plenty of light for a stairway. I do like the 4 bulbs so you never get caught in the dark when just the one blows out. Bright light would be helpful while sprucing it up, then adjust the wattage to how well it turns out.

But what I really want to know is how does it look from the street?! Is that stained glass window a "Bat Signal" to let the neighbors know you are up and roaming about the house?

I am not uphappy with the brightness of the light. As I get older I find I just need more light to really see by, I just meant if I turn on the light, in the picture you can't see the light fixture, just a big white glow. In operation it is fine, although I prefer the semi amber light of Edison Bulbs but got daylight bulbs by accident. That can be a very harsh, white light.

On the latter part, I am not sure.

For some reason stained glass windows in a stairwell was common in houses in New England. Some prominent windows had stained glass, like around the front entry, or like in my house, a second bedroom facing the road, but the midway landing on stairs often had elaborate stained glass windows. I am not sure why, but one episode of This Old House featured this feature.

I have done a few other lights in this house, swapping out a bare 60 watt bulb to other arrangements from another four lights in the dining room, to two bulb fixtures in the Foyer and Living Room. I do switch to 100 watt light equivalent bulbs just so I have a bit more light.

I LOVE learning new things and gaining new skillsets, but in kind of a co-project for this light, and the stained glass windows of this house, I put a stained glass door in our bathroom since it lacked a linen closet door. On the woodworking section of Permies, I showed that project if anyone wants to see what I am talking about.

But the door had several broken stain glass panes. I have never worked with it before; never cut glass at all before, and while there was some failures, I did learn how to cut stained glass, and how to glaze.

This really opens up a whole new realm for me as I can add stained glass to some of my home improvements, like as @Anne Miller points out, replacing some glass on this light with stained glass, or making kitchen cabinets with stained glass, or other stain glassed projects that will really connect areas of the house. I must temper my own enthusiasm though as I would not want stained glass to overwhelm the house, but it works well with the decore here.

Here is another cheap Hobby Lobby light made for our Foyer.

Again, just a cheap lantern bought at the half off rack, fitted with 2 ceiling sockets from Home Depot and made into a light. This one has twin 100 watt equivalent bulbs giving is more light than the single 60 watt bulb we had before.

I understand not wanting to make a persons own lights but it’s really cheap, fast and easy to do, and the right light really makes the room.

Steve Zoma wrote:Here is another cheap Hobby Lobby light made for our Foyer.

Again, just a cheap lantern bought at the half off rack, fitted with 2 ceiling sockets from Home Depot and made into a light. This one has twin 100 watt equivalent bulbs giving is more light than the single 60 watt bulb we had before.

I understand not wanting to make a persons own lights but it’s really cheap, fast and easy to do, and the right light really makes the room.

One of my studio classes for a semester in college was lighting design. It is very approachable to do, the parts are widely available, and one easy way to get some parts (especially if not the medium Edison base sockets) is to use parts from an existing lamp or fixture. This could be salvage, or a new purchase. Let's say you wanted a transformer, dimmer switch, lamp socket, cord... less work to find one complete lamp than source all those parts separately, some of which you might end up with five or ten when you need just one.

The light does make a statement, and can really affect the look and feel of a room.

Kenneth Elwell wrote:

Steve Zoma wrote:Here is another cheap Hobby Lobby light made for our Foyer.

Again, just a cheap lantern bought at the half off rack, fitted with 2 ceiling sockets from Home Depot and made into a light. This one has twin 100 watt equivalent bulbs giving is more light than the single 60 watt bulb we had before.

I understand not wanting to make a persons own lights but it’s really cheap, fast and easy to do, and the right light really makes the room.

One of my studio classes for a semester in college was lighting design. It is very approachable to do, the parts are widely available, and one easy way to get some parts (especially if not the medium Edison base sockets) is to use parts from an existing lamp or fixture. This could be salvage, or a new purchase. Let's say you wanted a transformer, dimmer switch, lamp socket, cord... less work to find one complete lamp than source all those parts separately, some of which you might end up with five or ten when you need just one.

The light does make a statement, and can really affect the look and feel of a room.

Yeah I ran with this and went to Hobby Lobby last night to build a light for my bathroom rebuild and to toy around with stained glass in a light.

I think for $50 it’s nice light that looks good and took less than an hour to make.

You guys can be the judge on that.