When it comes time to choose a light design, there are a lot of sources to find a good one. More than ever, you have a choice when it comes to light fixtures, lamps, and even canned or recessed lighting when planning out the interior design of your home. There are tons of ideas that you can use to incorporate the right light into your interior design. BUT if you are wanting to repurpose some of your unused items, check out these recycling light designs to bring some new light to your space.

Items You Can Recycle To Create Awesome Light Designs

1. Tea Pot Light designed by Ralston & Bau

Designed by Ralston & Bau the Tea Pot Light is the first recycling light design in our top. Each lamp shade is carefully handcrafted and individually designed to be one of a kind. Not only teapots but also old garden pottery, bowls & lamp shades have been artistically used to design the lights. via Design Spotter.

2. Illy lamp

The illy coffee company was founded in 1933 by Francesco Illy. Today, illy coffee beans can be found in 140 countries worldwide. Here is an interesting light design made from these aluminum cans. It even looks like old disco lights.

3. Lighting Made of Galvanized Iron

This project is made of galvanized iron parts and an original innovative – on/off tap light switch (developed at the studio), combined with the electronics needed for it to house a 20watt halogen light bulb. I guess is a unique functional light for your office desk, on your computer station, or in any other place you need it.

4. Light with plastic bottle caps

In the future may all the plastic bottles will be recycled. In the UK only 5.5% of plastic bottles sold are recycled, which leaves 40 thousand tons left to go into the landfill each year. Here is an interesting recycled light design made from plastic bottle tops and caps. Different bottle caps can be collected to change the light’s color and pattern.

5. Cans Light

Thousands of beverages are consumed throughout the world every day. Many are packaged in aluminum cans that should be recycled. Did you know that you can do your part for the environment and get paid for recycling aluminum cans? You can make a cool lamp for your home if you have an inspiration.

6. Tape Cassette Lamp by Transparent House

Made from many cassettes, each lamp uses a bright, cool-burning neon light source to keep the plastic cassettes from melting. All cassettes are in their cases.

7. Cluster chandelier

A room can come alive with the right lights & shades. Lightning plays a major role in creating the right ambiance of a room. Lampshades of all shapes and sizes cluster together jostling for positions. Many other works from James Plump are based on recycling or reusing things to make new lights.

8. Recycled Tube Light by Castor Canadensis

If you have many old fluorescent tubes and don’t know what to do with them, here’s the perfect idea for you! The Toronto based design collective known as Castor Canadensis fashions beautiful ceiling lights out of discarded old fluorescent tubular lightbulbs.

9. Tea cups light

I know someone who collects tea cups. It`s like a hobby for him. Grandmothers may still have cup and saucer sets from their youth that could be the basis of a teacup collection that would bring them many hours of joy. There are available in many colors around you and you can mix them to create a cool tea light. Also if you are going to buy, the ted lights are a unique and creative option for anyone looking to light their life with style.

10. Drinking Straw Pendant Light

For this design, you must have thousand of drinking straws. It is really fun to make one if you have time, and it is also a cheap option. This lamp is made out of drinking straws. The main idea was to bring the light through the straws instead of liquid.

11. DIY Glass Bottle Lamp

This recycling light idea is perfect for a room with a romantic setting, such as in your bedroom or in a meditation room. And the best part is, it’s very simple to make and can be a great way to recycle those old wine bottles you’ve got lying around. The project is outlined on How To Make A Bottle Lamp, but when you have old bottles lying around, all you will really need to do is purchase some string lights, and maybe a cute mini lampshade for the top and you are in business!

12. Sweet Test Tube Lamp

Now, this next project isn’t for everyone, as most people don’t have test tubes lying around the house. But if you are a teacher, or a scientist, and have some test tubs you need to recycle, you should seriously consider making this amazing test tube lamp as featured on Instructables. The nifty thing about this recycled light is that it can easily be customized to suit your bedroom or office just by changing the color of the LED light beneath the wood piece holding the test tubes.

13. Beautiful Birdcage Upcycled Lamp

Do you have a birdcage lying around but don’t want to invest in any more pets? Consider making your birdcage into this beautiful lamp featured on Blesser House. This project is another simple DIY that doesn’t require you to have any electrical knowledge to complete and it’s easy to customize just by purchasing different faux bird or flower decorations. This birdhouse light could even be a great addition to a child’s themed room when styled properly.

14. Turn Old Legos Into A New Light Masterpiece

When your kids outgrow their Legos, don’t throw them out. Instead, keep them for craft projects like this nifty Lego lamp by Stuffed Party. Legos are neat because they come in almost any color imaginable and can be very versatile when it comes to crafts. You can make a basic Lego lamp like in the above example, or get creative to make a unique design that allows light to filter through. The sky really is the limit when it comes to Legos!

15. Paper Cup Fairy Lights

Paper cups can easily be turned into recycled lighting because of how easy it is to work with them. So next time you have a bunch of fun unused paper cups leftover from an event, use them to turn a string of lights into customized décor. In this example on Prima, red and white paper cups leftover from the 4^th of July are used to make Christmas themed lights, but you could also use flowered paper cups to make tiki lights or even just add solid color cups to spice up a boring white string of lights you use every day.

16. Key And Globe Lamp

This unique project can be a more challenging one to tackle, but it is a great way to recycle both your old keys and an old globe. You might need some help sawing the globe in half, but from there you should be able to construct the rest of this lamp with items you find around the house. In this example on A Bird From A Wire, push pins were added around the rim of the globe, and then the recycled keys were added using a wire. You could also drill holes into the globe itself and hang the keys individually for a different look.

17. Cardboard Cube Lamp

Thanks to the days of online ordering, everyone has some cardboard house around their house they would like to recycle. Follow these instructions on Instructables to turn your cardboard into a cute paper cube lamp. But don’t be afraid to go rogue and try making your own patterns with the cardboard. This is also another project where you can switch out the color of the bulb to give the lamp a new look!

18. Sweet Skateboard Lamp

Transforming an old skateboard into a source of light is no easy task, but if you think you can master it, you will end up with a light fixture people are sure to comment on. There are a couple of different ways to incorporate lighting into an old skateboard. For those who are electrically inclined, you can turn the wheels into bulbs like they did on Techna Bob. But for the less electrically talented folks out there, you can still turn your skateboard into recycled lighting by attaching different types of lighting to the back of the skateboard then hanging it on the wall for a trendy back lit look.

19. Metal Colander Lampshade

These days most people use plastic colanders to drain their pasta, as they are much lighter and easier to handle than traditional metal colanders. Ditch your metal colander and choose to use it to make a cool lampshade instead. This project is outlined on The Owner Builder Network, and as long as you have a drill, won’t take more than a minute or two to create. Not feeling the rustic look? Add a fresh coat of bright paint to make this a lamp to fit into any style or décor.

20. Antique Telephone Lamp

The times of the chord home phone are long gone, and if there is still one sitting around your home, you can recycle it to make this fun telephone lamp featured on Ryobi Nation. Although this project may look challenging, these old phones are often hollow, making it very easy to insert the electrical equipment you will need to add for it to function. Do note that this project isn’t quite as simple as some of the others on the list, however, because it does involve some drilling and minor electrical knowledge to complete.

No matter what look you are trying to achieve in your home, these recycled lighting ideas can help you to accomplish them in every room. Besides just making your home look great, you will also feel great about using these lights because items were recycled to create them! Now you’ll finally have lighting that is both good for you, and for the environment, that you’ll be dying to tell your friends about!