Kelly Wearstler Linden Lamp Dupe

I’ve been needing a lamp for my entry table. When I was out thrifting, I found a great shaped cylinder lamp. I figured I could use it to get a “look for less” for the Kelly Wearstler lamp I’d seen recently. That’s a $695 lamp(!!!) so I knew I’d be able to make it for much, much less money- mind cost $20!  Here’s how to make a Kelly Wearstler Linden lamp dupe.

DIY Kelly Wearstler Linden Lamp Dupe

I was thrifting the other day and found an $8 lamp and shade. It wasn’t my ideal lamp (mostly the navy color doesn’t coordinate with my pastel house), but then I realized I could use the modern shape for this fun DIY!

Here’s the lamp I’m trying to recreate-

If you can’t find a base thrifting, don’t worry! I’m linking to a similar Target lamp below-

SUPPLIES

• 30 Round Wood Balls 1″ diameter or 25 Wood Ball Knobs 1″ (if you don’t want to sand and spend a few dollars more)
• Painter’s Tape
• Super Glue
• Spray Paint Primer
• White Spray Paint
• Lamp Base
• Lamp Shade 

Tools

• Palm Sander

step 1- sand wood balls

Start by sanding the wood balls so that they have a flat bottom. I don’t know if you can tell from the picture, but I sanded down a flat section so the ball would better connect with the lamp.

Honestly, I just found the link to these wood balls that are a good price and ship fast and already have the flat bottom. It’s $5 more, but saves a 20 minute step.

step 2- prep for glue

Next, it’s time to prep for glue! Note, if you glue the wood balls onto the lamp and you aren’t really precise, they’ll be all over the place and look silly and unprofessional. Don’t skip this step.

The first thing I did was measure the diameter of the lamp. I did the math and figures that I could do 6 lines of wood balls 2.5 inches apart.

To mark where the rows of tile would go, I used a gold sharpie and a level and drew lines ever 2.5 inches on the lamp.

Next, decide how many beads will go down the sides. The original lamp has 4. I decided on 5 per row to better fill the space.

Using a ruler, I started an inch from the top and bottom and then each ball has 2 inches between them. I was happy with how that worked out. Each lamp will be different so it might some calculating and seeing how the balls look on the lamp to get it right.

To finish up the prep, I ripped 30 pieces of painters tape. These will be for holding the wood balls in place during gluing.

Note, I’ll be painting so all those Sharpie marks will be covered right up!

step 3- glue wood balls on

And now, use a little super glue on the back of each wood ball (the flat part!) and put it on the mark. Use painter’s tape to hold it in place as it dries. 

Super glue isn’t sticky when it’s wet so it won’t hold the balls in place with out the tape. But it will bond the wood to the glue as it dries. 

I wouldn’t use hot glue for this project. Standard hot glue will probably wear out over time and the bond might fail causing the wood balls to fall off. Especially because the wood balls have a little weight to them, use a different adhesive.

After all the wood balls are glued on, let them dry for two full hours to set. 

step 4

Finally, cover the parts of the lamp that you don’t want spray paint in with painter’s tape and a plastic bag. I wanted the base to stay wood so I carefully taped that off with 60 tiny pieces of tape- lol. I really wanted a clean finish,.

Next, I brought the lamps outside to spray paint. I placed them on a cardboard box so they’d stay up in the grass (and so I didn’t spray too much on the grass).

First, I sprayed on the primer. This is important since it’ll help bond the spray paint to the smooth surface. 

Once the primer dried, I followed up with 3 thin coats of white spray paint. I like to keep the paint can constantly moving. If I happen to get a drip, I like to keep a paper towel close by to dab on it. 

Make sure to spray paint at different angles to get all sides of the balls. Especially the bottom was a little tricky to get to. Let the lamp dry for 24 hours.

The last thing I did was give the lamp shade a bit of a clean. It had some dirty marks so I used Folex and it came right off! Folex is made for carpet cleaning, but I use it whenever I have any type of fabric (upholstery, rugs, and lamp shades) that need cleaning. 

after

And here’s the finished Kelly Wearstler Linden Lamp Dupe! I’m super pleased with it! I looooove how it’s a modern touch on this very formal end table. It gives it a bit of an edge- which is exactly what it needed to not look so fussy.

I’m happy with how close it looks to the original! I paid $20 in supplies and now have a gorgeous lamp that’s perfect for the space.

I’d been searching for a lamp for here. There’s no overhead lighting in my living room, but the plug in the entry turns on with the light switch so now you can turn this on when coming home at night. It’s perfect!

This was a pretty easy DIY. I think anyone could do it with a little patience. And it’s MUCH better than spending $700 on a lamp ;). 

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