s Industrial Zinc Pulley Floor Lamp (Pottery Barn Knockoff) - The Kim Six Fix
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Industrial Zinc Pulley Floor Lamp (Pottery Barn Knockoff)

Pottery barn inspired industrial pulley floor lamp
I’ve been alluding to this project on Instagram for a while now, but I am finally rolling out the reveal today!  It is my DIY floor lamp as part of Brittany’s DIY Lighting Challenge:

My lamp was inspired by this Warren Pulley table lamp from Pottery Barn:
Warren pulley task floor lamp

However I expanded the size and put it on a concrete base to turn it into a floor lamp.  This is what my plan looked like:Pottery Barn Pulley Lamp Schematic
And here was my original version of the knock off with a metal basket shade:
Metal pulley lamp DIY
But my build was actually a lot more complicated than it may first appear. First, there was the challenge of building a lamp out of wood (not that that was a requirement of the challenge, but I wanted to use my woodworking skills so I made it a personal requirement) and secondly, because I couldn’t find any industrial looking pulleys locally.  (I waited to long to order them online of course.)  If I was going to build this again, I could just order these actual pulleys. 

Instead I found these casters which had the great industrial look.  They are intended for the bottom of a piece of furniture and had large swiveling mounting brackets, but I loved the shape of the wheel and knew I could make them work.   Plus they are only SIX BUCKS!  Similar pulley wheels go for 4-5 times that on etsy.
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So these are the supplies that are required for my “pulley" hack.
3 Steel Swivel Casters
3 Simpson Strong-Tie Straps (9 inch or 12 inch) (Make sure you get the 20 gauge so you can cut them!)
Tin Snips
Pliers or Channellocks

Supply list for industrial vintage lamp
 First you just need to remove the wheel from the caster by loosening the bolt with the pliers.  you can throw out the swiveling bracket.
Dissasembling metal casters
Next, you need to cut down your Strong-Tie straps with the tin snips to form the new pulley “bracket". I got SO LUCKY that the large hole in the strap is the EXACT SIZE to fit the bolt from the caster.  You can get 2 supports (enough for one bracket) out of each strap. Cutting down metal connectors for DIY pulleys
Now you just run the bolt though those cut down straps and there you have it.  Brand new “pulleys” which are ready to be attached to your wooden lamp base.
Zinc casters turned into vintage pulleys
And out of sheer luck (again, the width of the caster wheel is exactly 1-1/2 inches.. The thickness of a 1x2! Metal caster turned into pulley
Here is what those pulleys look like on the actual lamp: Pottery barn style metal and wood industrial floor lamp
 Now for the supplies for the rest of the lamp:
One 6-ft 2x2 (cut to 58 inches)
One 6-ft 1x2 (cut to 36 inches)
2 Strong-Tie 2x2 Rigid Tie Brackets
Quick Setting Concrete (I used Mortar Mix)

Router with roundover bit
Staple Gun (Optional) I like this one since it is designed for wires
Paint (I used Rustoleum Hammered Metal in Brown, to make the wood look like metal pipes)
Pottery Barn Pulley Lamp With Measurements
First I cut down my boards and rounded all the corners with my router.  Next I painted them with Rustoleum Hammered Metal in Brown so they would look like the Pottery Barn Inspiration piece. Spray painting boards for lampNext I needed to add the 2x2 bracket on the top of the 2x2.  However, I wanted the top piece to swivel so I drilled a large hole in the center of the top part of the bracket in order to run a bolt though the 1x2.  I also drilled a hole through the 1x2.
Drilling pivot hole for connectionThen I attached it to the top of the 2x2Strong tie connector lampHere is how it looks in the schematic.  Diagram of pivot point on Pulley lampAnd here is what it looked like when I actually built it. Swivel metal connector
I also needed to support the post in the concrete base so I used a stepping stone mold and I cut to slits into it so the Strong Tie Connector would protrude from the surface.  then I filled it with concrete and let it set.
Attaching wood to concrete base
I screwed the 2x2 into the bracket. It was a lot more stable than I thought it would be. I was worried the heavy metal caster wheels would weigh too much, but that wasn’t a problem at all. Diy concrete lamp base
 Once I had all the pulleys and brackets attached, I was finally able to string my old Dollar Store Wastepaper Pendant lamp through the pulleys: 
I did use a few staples to keep the wire in place.  This is what the lamp looked like with that original shade.  It seemed a tad too airy for the heaviness of the pulleys.
Basket and pulley vintage industrial floor lamp
So I ran to Ikea and bought this fun copper lined shade (NYMO) instead (Ironically the shade cost as much as the entire lamp!) :


Copper lined lamp shade with cut outsIt does look really neat when it is lit up. Copper and black lamp shade
And gives it a fun Mid Century Modern vibe.  I really like it. Industrial lamp with pulleysHowever, if the more vintage farm house style is your thing, this version is pretty darn cute too:
DIY wood and metal pulley floor lamp
I have to admit, this project through me for a loop.. And it took me a long time to figure out exactly how to get the pulleys to work, but now that I have the final project I’m pretty excited about it.   Definitely a one of a kind lamp for a one of a kind girl!
DIY Pottery Barn Pulley Floor Lamp
If you have a DIY lighting project you would like to share, or are just looking for more inspiration, check out the link up below:


And here are few other Electrical projects you may be interested in:








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