Transform An Ordinary Kitchen Essential Into Gorgeous Accent Lighting With An Easy DIY

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Beautiful accent lights not only have the power to change the mood in the home, but they can also enhance a decorating theme. Aside from this, many modern lighting displays make it easier to work with your home's lights thanks to smart features and interactive controls, like remotes and push-button switches. Of course, these don't always come with a budget-friendly price tag. Luckily, if you're an avid DIYer, you can craft your own upscale luminaire — just like Instagram creator @modernity.focus – using IKEA's HULTET display dish, a battery-operated disc light, and some strong adhesive. 

To make a luxe, budget-friendly DIY lamp from the IKEA piece, you may need to make some changes to the dish, depending on which room you'll use the light in. As is, it's made of bamboo and covered with a clear lacquer. If you're going for a minimalist, bare-wood look, then you won't need to modify it. However, if the plate is to fit into other aesthetics, like mid-century modern or the Japandi decorating style, painting, staining, or other decorative embellishments might be in order. If you go this route, you'll need the paint or stain of your choice, a paintbrush, and possibly a primer.

To ready the piece for staining or painting, make sure you have a sander with a fine-grade sandpaper on hand. Any sandpaper with a grit between 100 and 150 will do. And finally, set aside some picture hangers and puck lights, such as the Bawoo LED Remote Control Puck Lights. You'll want to use battery-operated lights with a remote for this if you want to introduce smart home elements, like activation via remote control, into the project.

If you've decided you don't want the plate to sport its factory color, so to speak, you'll need to lightly sand off the coat of clear lacquer that came on it. This gives the stain or paint you're using something to stick to. It's important that you don't skip this step because bamboo can be tricky to work with, due to how smooth it naturally is. 

If you're only staining the bamboo, you may not need a primer, as the stain is often sufficient. However, if you're painting it, you'll likely need a primer. The best way to determine this is to sand a patch on the back of the IKEA piece and do a test patch with the paint you're working with. If it doesn't adhere well to the bamboo plate, it might be time to use a primer. Once you've pre-treated the piece and given it a coat or two of color, let it dry completely before moving on to the next step — assembling.

Stick the disc lamp onto the center of the plate. Then, glue a GUSSKER Sawtooth Picture Hanger to the back of the plate before you hang it up. Alternatively, you could create a tabletop lamp instead by mounting the plate on a decorative LIONWEI LIONWELI 4-Inch Gold Iron Plate Stand. Place it on a side table or your fireplace mantel to bring in some focused, luxurious accent lighting to those spots.