http://talojajatoiveita.blogspot.com
http://talojajatoiveita.blogspot.com

We thought we were so smart when we thought to blog about the hacks we’d imagined for Ikea’s Löbbo shade, which is basically a sheet of  polypropylene that you form into a drum and secure with metal struts; it can be placed on a lamp base or hung from a pendant. It comes in various sizes, but we bought several of the biggest with the idea of using the sheets of polypropylene — which is pretty heat-proof —as a RAW MATERIAL with which to fashion all sorts of shades, using our trusty exacto knife. (We’ve been searching for readily-available shade materials for years.)

First thing we planne was to tailor the Löbbo shade we’ve got on a standing lamp: slice off a 2 or 3 inches from the drum-like shade to give it a more sleek, retro look. Then we’d go to town playing with the remaining sheets of Löbbo polypropylene we have, to fashion some sort of scultpural pendant light, like this one we found at Ouno:

pendant lamp at gundrun restaurant

It spurred our thinking as to the endless possibilitiies for Löbbo’s parts (which only cost a few bucks).

http://www.alittlebiteofeverything.com
http://www.alittlebiteofeverything.com

http://partsandpc.blogspot.com
http://partsandpc.blogspot.com

But before we even tried any ideas out, we googled Löbbo shade and discovered that legions of imaginative people were already way ahead of us. At Makably, a woman named Zipper 8 Lightening has created a trove of Löbbo hacks that you can buy, including one made by inserting colored drinking straws into the shade:

lobbo w straws hack

…and  a handsome one festooned with pop top tabs

lobbo hack pop top

We found many more embellishments to Ikea’s basic drum shade. But our favorite Löbbo iteration harkens back to our original idea of use the Löbbo shade MATERIAL to fabricate unique lighting, in league with Ikea’s Hemma pendant cord set. We found it on Ikea Hacker. Vendela bought extra shades and cut one into strips to insert into slits cut into the regularly-assembled Löbbo.

ikeahacker.com
ikeahacker.com

ikeahacker.com
ikeahacker.com

…here’s what the inside looks like:

Lobbo shade hack

We’ve discoverd that Löbbo comes in colors. Just think of the possiblities!

lobbo shade in colors

Related posts: the enduring chic of noguchi-esque paper shades
high-style lamps have dim bulbs (what would calder do?)
the lightbulb dilemma: looking for beautiful light, environmentally-friendlyhigh-design plumen bulb review: it casts an ugly light!
instant chic lighting: the lunette shade
modernist noguchi-esque paper shade lights (cheap)
lindsay adelman’s brilliant d-i-y lighting plans
great clip-on lamp shade (+ the search for glass fiber paper)
cool lighting: stacked globes and paper shades
l.e.d. snow surfer = moving poetry
string lights as everyday indoor lighting

If you’ve found illumination, joy, or inspiration in this post, please consider supporting Improvised Life. It only takes a minute to make a secure donation that helps pay our many costs. A little goes a long way towards helping Improvised Life continue to live ad-free in the world.

Support Improvised Life ♥

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *