A little while ago you may remember me taking a trip to Dowsing & Reynolds to get my mitts on some lovely monochrome fabric cable?
I’d picked up an emergency exit sign from a charity shop for £2.50. I didn’t know if it worked but was full of possibilities so definitely worth a punt. I enjoy giving my OH things to keep him occupied. He loves a puzzle. He’s also extremely handy with a screwdriver.
It took some time to get all of the bits ordered, (mainly as i’ve been working like a trojan on design projects) but I’ve finally pulled my finger out and finished making my very own lightbox.
Here’s what I needed:
- A 1.5m length of beautiful monochrome cable from Dowsing & Reynolds. Cost – £4 a meter.
- A custom size piece of opal perspex from my local fabricator. Cost – £2.
- An inline switch from B&Q. Cost – £2.
- SPRUTT Vinyl stickers from Ikea. Cost £6 for 4 sheets.
- My emergency exit light box – £2.50
Et voila!
It will be going in Charlie’s bedroom back at his nan and grandad’s house in Stoke On Trent. I am redoing his room there (remotely) and have been creating bits and bobs to make his tiny box room a little different. Somewhere nice that he’ll be excited to stay. But mainly so I can drop him off for a few days and find time to shave my legs.
The bedroom at the g-parents will be monochrome with pops of colour here and there, so I kept the colours low key, using fonts to make it a little quirky. A bit like an old-skool death threat, where the letters are cut from the newspaper. Got to love the effort that went into those. The Ikea SPRUTT stickers were perfect. You get four sheets for your £6 so there’s lots of scope for play.
We are yet to add the inline switch as i’m not sure where it’s being mounted yet. It will be wall hung, out of the way of Charlie’s pesky fingers but I want the switch to be accessible to adults. This will be added last. Always thinking, me. Always.
Total Cost?
£18.50
Not bad for a bespoke lighbox eh?
I do want to add, that my OH KNOWS what he is doing with wiring and electrical items, so he did all the fiddly bits and researched beforehand how these boxes worked. This isn’t a normal DIY that you can all try at home peeps, so please don’t go sticking cables in things without asking someone who knows their shizzle.
Let’s hope the sentiment is true eh? “Charlie Dreams” fitted in perfectly and will look splendid in his little guest room. I love it.
This line made me LOL: “But mainly so I can drop him off for a few days and find time to shave my legs.” Hahaha! It came out fantastic! Really gorgeous project! xx
Haha. IT’S TRUE!! 🙂
And thanks Ms Duran, really glad you like it. Chuffed with how it turned out and was super easy to do!x
What a beautiful project Karen! Well done, it looks wonderful xx
This looks really cool. Love the typographic stickers. Not something I could do at home though as I have no idea about wiring but it looks really great!
This looks great Karen and such a great price as opposed to buying a ready made one. Fab, well done! x
I am working my way through your blogs, start to finish. I love them all. But because I’ve had a gin and am feeling sentimental I had to comment. Your son is going to take this light box that his parents designed and made (!!!) into his life and treasure it. Lucky boy.
We are 3 years away from our own house renovation (saving etc) but I’d like to get in touch and hope that you have the space to fit us in.
Thanks so much Jane – really glad to hear you’re enjoying reading the blog 🙂