Boho is such a huge trend in interior design right now. The cosy, textured, natural feel it has resonates with many, including myself. I’m not sure how many people would be able to resist a room that is light and airy with luscious green plants and textured throws and cushions. A major feature of many ‘boho’ rooms are elements of macrame. Macrame in the form of hanging planters, cushions and wall hangings. More recently we have seen stores like Anthropologie and urban outfitters stocking macrame lampshades.
They are beautiful and add so much warmth to a room. But at those prices I knew I wouldn’t be buying one anytime soon. I had some macrame cord at home and I already had a lampshade so I thought ‘why not give it a try’. It was such an easy DIY and the end result was just what I wanted.
What You Will Need
- An old lampshade
- Macrame chord
- wooden beads
- Stanley knife
- Scissors
- Brush or comb
Step 1 – use your Stanley knife to take apart your lampshade. You should just be left with the top ring.
Step 2 – remove any pieces of the shade that might be left on the ring. If you want to change the colour of the ring this would be the time to do it.
Step 3 – decide how long you want your cord to hang. Keep in mind that you want them to hang slightly lower than the light bulb.
Step 4 – cut out pieces of macrame cord that are double the length you have decided you want your shade to be. I wanted mine to be 5” so I cut cord to approximately 10”. You will need lots of these so be patient.
Step 5 – taking 4 or 5 pieces of cord at a time loop them over the lampshade ring. Taking another small piece of cord tie it round to secure them in place making sure the knot you make is on the inside of the lampshade. Continue to do this all the way around the ring.
Step 6 – brush out the macrame cord using a fine tooth comb or dog brush. I found this much easier to do if I first untwisted the chord and then used the comb to brush it out. When you have brushed out all the cord give it a trim to make sure it’s the same length all around.
Now you can stop at this point and hang the lampshade up or if you want to be extra (like me) you can add some wooden beads. I got these beads from Amazon. You will need to measure the diameter of your lampshade first. Then you’ll have to decide how many swags you would like to have. My lampshade was 29” in diameter and I decided that I wanted to have six swags which equates to about a distance of 5.8” between each one. I then had to make sure I accounted for the extra cord I’d need to create the swag so I cut out a piece of macrame cord that was about 50” long. This gave me lots of room to play with and meant I didn’t run out of cord when putting on the beads. You will have to play around with this bit to see what design or pattern works for you. I didn’t cut the cord at all until I was finished. To secure the swags I simply looped the string around the lampshade ring to secure each swag in place.
When you are happy with the placement of the beads give your lampshade another brush to make sure it’s nice and even and then hang it up.
I love how this came out and it does exactly what I was hoping it would – bring an element of warmth and cosines to my room.
If you have a go at making your own lampshade do let me know. You can find me on Instagram @hollaatfola. Happy DIYing!
Sweet Folly 