DIY Outdoor Lighting for the Deck

This set of DIY solar table lamps is an easy DIY project that makes such a great addition to an outdoor patio or outdoor seating area. Whether you have a hot climate with blistering daytime temps or short summers where we squeeze out as much time outside as possible, these solar lanterns are a great way to light up your patio to enjoy the cooler evening hours outside. These DIY solar-powered table lamps light the deck so you can enjoy another hour or two.

Do you have a set of old table lamps you’re not using, or does someone in your family have them stashed cluttering up a shelf? It’s very easy to repurpose those old lamps into solar table lamps or solar floor lamps, to brighten up your outdoor space, and you need any electrical outlets or pesky cords. You can place them anywhere you want them whether it’s a patio table or end table. If you want to skip the shade (my favorite part of this project) you can even use them in your flower garden or an outdoor area that needs extra lighting.

How to Create an Outdoor DIY Solar Lamp

These solar lamps are so easy to make, with a few simple supplies and tools.

Step 1 – Update the Lamp Base

These outdoor solar lights don’t need to be plugged in so removing the original plug-in cord is the first step. The wiring in lamps and most others, enter the lamp from the bottom. Take the bottom cover off of the bottom of the old lamp. Then cut the wires with the wire cutters. Make sure the lamp cord is short enough it no longer shows. Place the bottom of the lamp base back on. Our lamps came with simple felt bottoms so we reattached them using crazy glue.

Adjusting the Lamp Share Brackets

Leave the upper part of the casing (where the light plugs in) intact. This will hold your new outdoor solar light. Because of the width of the top of our lamps, Hubs had to widen the shade brackets a little so the solar lamps would fit. He did this with a simple set of pliers and a little pressure. Don’t overextend them, but move them a bit at a time until the solar lamp fits. If your solar lamp is smaller you may be able to skip this step.

Fit the upper part of the shade brackets and the light part of the solar lamp back onto the lamp.   We need to keep the lampshade bracket for the shade to attach to.

Making the Lamp Shade

You can make the lampshade out of various things, an old metal fruit basket, a Dollar Store wire basket, a metal bowl, or a colander.  Have some fun deciding what to use, the Dollar Stores likely has something perfect for the size of your lamp. When choosing the lampshade it must be large enough to hide the lamp bracket. 

Since we’re using outdoor solar lights we don’t need to worry about the solar lamps being waterproof, but they should be sturdy enough to stay outside. For our lamps, the Dollar Store wire waste baskets were the perfect size.

So now that we have the workings of the lamp hidden within the metal lampshade, the next step is to ensure the solar panel receives enough light to charge. Having the solar panel for the lamps on the top of the solar light makes it easier to access and camouflage than the ones with the panel sticking out to the side. To give the solar panels access to as much light as possible Hubs used metal sheets to cut out as much of the metal as possible from the bottom of the waste paper basket.  This is how he cut them out.

Hubs cut these out using a small Dremel with a tiny cut-off blade. Depending on the basket you find, you may be able to cut them with tin snips. The central piece he cut out with a simple drill.

Painting the Lamp

Use masking tape to cover the solar light and lamp shade bracket.  Then paint the entire lamp stand right up to the solar light any way you choose.  I used Rustoleum white chalk paint because I had some leftovers.  This lamp was originally very dark brown so it took two coats of white chalk paint.  I let the paint dry for an hour between coats.  Once dry I  sprayed it with three coats of polyurethane.  Once painted I kept mine indoors for a couple of days to make sure the paint hardened enough to prevent rain damage.  

The baskets and the lamp brackets were spray-painted metallic grey to match the top of the solar lantern.  Follow the directions on your paint can. 

Pin This to Have It!

Other Solar Lighting Ideas to Try