Lighting doesn’t have to be limited to recessed cans, hand me down table lamps or fluorescent ceiling monstrosities. Your home is your castle, not some boring day job where you’re punching a clock, so snap out of the idea that your lighting is just supposed to make everything else look good – it can look good in and of itself. Here’s a bright idea – stop simply illuminating your space and start brightening your abode with these incredibly unique lighting options.
| This content is brought to you by the new Hyundai Elantra which helps you “Snap Out” of your routine to live your best life. |
We live in a world where our music has no physical form outside of a concert – the world of the mp3. But all that means is that there are plenty of cassette tapes lying around to be turned into art. Like this lamp which uses no less than 100 of the iconic pieces of plastic to surround a neon light source (prevents melting) and create a visually appealing light show out of something you probably thought you’d never see again.
Part science class, part MacGuyver execution, this lamp combines an Erlenmeyer chemistry flask and a vintage light socket in a way that will make it is perfect on your table as it would be on the set of Breaking Bad. If that’s not quite cool enough for you, it’s also filled with volcanic sand.
Like an as-of-yet unanimated part of a Pixar movie, the Kozo 20 desk lamp has a personality all its own. Equipped with padded feet and a perfectly balanced design, this little lamp that could shines a light on your work without eating all your desk space.
Even though your career in movies is limited to the occasional film on weekends, that’s no reason you can’t play director more often with the help of this 1940s Hollywood Studio Floor Lamp. Seemingly wheeled right off the set, this solid cast aluminum lamp will look as good lighting your living room as it will your movie set.
They might not contain moonshine, but artificial daylight is a close second in terms of awesome when it comes to uses for a mason jar. And while one jar would certainly be cool, six of them strung together and turned into a dangling chandelier is downright awesome.
For most of us, repurposing a vintage motorcycle means selling it on Craigslist on just buying a new one. Betsy salvages a spring, shock absorber, brake rotor and transmission gear from the scrap pile by welding them into a lamp that any table would be proud to hold.
Sometime in the future, robots will turn the tables on humanity and enslave their human masters. Until that happens, deck out your office, man cave or living room with a PVC robolamp that looks as docile as Fido or as mean as a mech from Robot Wars.
One bottle of wine is never enough, and the empties don’t just have to get thrown in the blue bin out back. By Gordon cuts off the bottom and converts them into chandeliers that would be fitting to hang above Bourdain’s table – or yours.
Like a choose your own adventure fuelled by booze, these custom made liquor lamps are all about choice. You pick your poison, light color and lamp shade and Among New Horizons does all the heavy lifting.
You could pay someone else to mow your lawn, but then you wouldn’t get uninterruptable alone time masked by the sound of whirring blades and the smell of gasoline. Combine your love of all things vintage with your love of bladed instruments of progress with a lamp that combines a decrepit push mower blade and electrical components.
Man’s best friend is usually limited to warming your feet and making sure you get your daily exercise. With Matt Pugh’s wooden dog lamp, man’s best friend is also capable of lighting up a room with something other than his big goofy grin.
Like an aquarium of light, the Harri Koskinen is translucent in its excellence. Combining a skeletonized lamp assembly with a frosted glass container, it’s next level design meets vintage tech.
Ominously hanging from the ceiling, this chandelier is part exposed spider and part Lego light. Start in the center with the ceiling mount and then hang the eight strands of 48″ braided wire as you see fit to create your perfect mix of light and shadow. Now you get to be the designer.
As part of Hyundai’s continuing “SNAP OUT” Sweepstakes (fine print here), Cool Material and Hyundai will be lighting up one life – and work space – with a free Kozo 20 desk lamp ($200 value). Leave a comment below about your favorite unique lighting from this list and you will be entered to win. We’ll choose a winner on 3/31. Good Luck!
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Loved the mason jar chandelier…looks like a DIY project in my future!
I love the Erlenmeyer Flask Lamp!!
The Kozo 20 desk lamp and the Liquor bottle lamps are awesome! They’d work well in my office!
The mason jar would be an awesome upgrade for a trailer. I like the Kozo 20.
I like the Industrial Chandelier, because I am planning to make something like that for my new house
only a more modern version of that 
love the Kozo 20 pipe lamp and the hollywood studio floor lamp soo cool
the wine bottle chandelier is crazy! but the kozo is still my favorite–i didn’t even read the post at first, just saw the image.
Im loving the industrial chandelier and pipe lamp. So edgy and unrefined (but sooo refined)!
The Kozo 20 pipe lamp looks super rad. Along with that Mason jar chandelier!
I love the tape player lamp it makes me want to burstout my boombox player and listen to kriss cross jump jump !!!!!!!
Nice variety. The Kozo 20 lamp is tops on this list for me. But I’d also love to have a set of industrial motorcycle lamps – sounds like a sweet DIY project!
Hollywood lamp is AMAZING, and looks huge!
I think the Kozo lamp is the coolest of the bunch, but I REALLY like the wine bottle chandelier and the lawnmower lamp as well.
I like every one of these lamps, but I think the wine bottle chandelier would go great in the kitchen of the shipping container home im trying to build.
The Robolamp would give some serious Nerd Cred
for sure the Wine Bottle Chandelier
I Love Love Love the Push Lawnmower lamp. It makes me want to terrorize the junkyard in search for that perfect piece to create a lamp/chair/shelf/whatever with. Its creative recycling.
I know its not a power saver but the 1940s Hollywood Studio Floor Lamp just oozes cool.
I love Erlenmeyer Flask Lamp.
The Kozo 20 pipe lamp is awesome!
My fave is the Erlenmeyer Flask Lamp i hope i win
The Kozo 20 Lamp has a character all its own. The description – as an as-yet-unreleased Pixar character – is spot on. Absolutely love this piece!
Love the robolamps! I finally found a light that those “green” lightbulbs look good in.
I gotta say, the push mower lamp was really cool. Looks like I’m gonna have to do that someday. The pipe lamp is rather cool too.
all of those lights are awesome now i just need to aquire more rooms to use them in
Kozo 20 is wicked, different and by far the best….
I really like the wine bottle chandelier and the mason jar one too. I’m thinking about trying to make one…
The Kozo lamp is so, so cool. But the cassette lamp really won my heart.
The motorcycle lamp is great. Who knows the history behind the lamp you would get.
I’m sure i am not the first to say this but the push mower lamp has to be my favorite.
I dig them all, but being that I’m a life long fan of motorcycles and the Publisher of a motorcycle magazine I have to go with the Motorcycle Lamp.
That Kozo would be Komfortable on my drafting table.
The Kozo Floor Lamp looks really great… I’m curious about it!!!
That wine bottle chandelier is cool! I would only use empty bottles of wine that I liked.
Love the Kozo 20. I work at a building supply store and when it’s bored I have a habit of designing and building furniture with black pipe. Love the simple industrial design.
I love the mason jar chandelier, So simple and clean, but gives rustic look! Definite DIY project in future that would go great next to a Kozo 20 Pipe Lamp!! Thanks CM for all your awesomeness!
I love the industrial design of the Kozo.
Diggin the Erlenmeyer lamp, especially w/ the BB reference…
I like the 1940s Hollywood Studio Floor Lamp. With Hollywood just around the block it is great to see repurposed Hollywood artifacts. The light is classy and even the most discriminating interior designer would appreciate it. I am not an interior designer, but I am artistic and have an eye for design and this light screams “turn me on!”
I really think that the Industrial Chandelier is very a unique idea. Just love the simplicity
Lovin that Kozo 20 light. It would look mighty fine on my work table.
All ideas are excellent. Kozo20 is tantalizing. $200 smackeroos isn’t quite in my price range though!
awesome stuff. love the motorcycle one
Looking forward to making my own mixed tape table lamp
I always love to see everyday items used in unique ways. Very cool.
great ideas!!
they’re all great DIY projects!
I loved the Kozo 20 Desk Lamp! I can’t help but think of my great uncle when I see this. Would love to get him one!
The motorcycle lamp turns me on. Cheesy pun intended.
The Cassette Tape Lamp “rocks”! Finally a functional application for those old “Ratt: Out of the Cellar” dubs! I could use a free lamp, but I’ll gladly trade some lighting for a sexy 40 MPG ride.
The Push Mower Lamp is definitely the most unique, but it’s not my favorite. The Robolamps just take it home for me.
I think the pipe lamp is my favorite.
Definitely the robolamp, `cause each part is so familiar but the total impression is like something that has never been seen before. And I just love it
I love the hanging wine bottle design- could use any type of bottle. I’m a coke collector so I am envisioning coke bottles hanging.So where do I get the tools to cut the glass and the wiring directions for some of theses designs?
Love the motorcycle lamp.
The Kozo 20 pipe lamp is sweet.
I love ingenuity..and that dog lamp’s pretty funny:)
I totally want the wine bottle Chandelier it is crazy awesome.
As a college kid, how can you not love the liquor lamps? I may have some of those bottles lying around somewhere…
I think the best one is the one being given away. Second prize goes to the wine bottle chandelier. Looks like something I might make.
Love the mason jar chandelier! Can see this in a country kitchen. They really all look great!
THe studio floor lamp is charming.
I love the mason jar chandelier
The Kozo lamp is pretty awesome
Any lamp made from recycled metal is a winner. The Hollywood floor lamp is great!
Push Lawnmower Lamp. Upcycling at its best.
A lot of people are jumping on the Mason Jar rustic look. You have to love the handmade quality and its imperfections of all these works though.
I love the Pipe Lamp. I think it would look great on my desk!!
So many wonderful choices. I love the liquor bottles. The wine bottle chandelier is awesome. The cassette tape light is screaming to have different color bulbs in it.
I’ve made Wine bottle glasses before but love the chandelier idea. I think I might do the Mason Jar lamp for the porch.
Yeah love the lawnmower-blade lamp but can’t afford the loss of fingers so it’s the pipe lamp as me fav – industrial and yet safer all around – bewdy ~:0)
The industrial chandelier is by far my favorite- I’ve always wanted to try something like that in my apartment! Maybe clustering all of them together over the dining room table.
I’m definitely going to attempt the Industrial Chandelier, but have it crawl up my wall rather than across the ceiling.
And if I can’t win the Kozo 20 desk lamp I’ll just have to hack one at Home Depot.
would defiently have to be the kozo lamp. amazing.
I like the robo lamp feels like its gonna come to life and take over
im digging the hollywood spot light lamp
very very cool
That liquor lamp would make use of all my leftover liquor bottles i have laying around!
The flask lamp is fascinating. I have a strong interest in science as art and love incorporating such in home decor. My apartment has a growing display with vintage science magazines, a human anatomy model, medical books and live plants growing along side. The flask lamp feels like home.
The industrial touch of the 1940′s Hollywood Studio Floor Lamp and the Kozo Desk Lamp offer a far more interesting decor option for homes and offices than any standard light fixture. It would be wonderful to see a tutorial on creating a light fixture out of pipes like the Kozo. I’ve always wanted to create my own light fixtures but fear electrical or fire hazards, so buying one remains much more assuring.
Thanks for the inspirations.
love the kozo lamp
The 1940s Hollywood Studio Floor Lamp is fresh! Vintage coolness to light up the room. Man, that thing is sweet!
Wow !!!
Really COOL Lamps !!!
What is MOST cool is most could be made at home!
I like the mason jar chandelier!
I love the Kozo, but the mason jar chandelier is something I may just have to try…
I loved the Erlenmeyer Flask Lamp, mad old school.
I love the wine bottle idea!
That is great for ingenuity, and recycling!
this makes me the most interesting man in the world? no… but it still looks cool
I really love the cassette tape light. It is a functional work of art, plus it takes me back to the 80′s.
All these laps are cool where can I buy them or instructions to DIY……….
Love the studio floor lamp! It would look great in my music classroom.
I’ve got a box of huge bulbs that came out of a steel mill in Youngstown. This has given me a new push to build a lamp with them. Really dig the Push Lawnmower Lamp too.
I’m stuck between the Kozo 20 lamp and the Liquor lamp…the Kozo looks like some sort of crazy animal but the Liquor lamp brings back so many good memories of college…how to choose.
I choose the Kozo 20 as it is far more unique.
Harri Koskinen Cosy Lamp is totes amazing
Love the dog. Love the Kozo. The hollywood lamp looks cool but not very practical. I’d love to have them all, at least for a day.
amazing lamp
perfect job!!!
I like the Motorcycle and Kozo lamps, they seem like ones you’ll want to keep for for years.
I love the Hollywood and Kozo lamps!
Nice beams!
Kozo wins. Kozo wins.
Holy cow, the dog lamp. I’m always a sucker for puns. But seriously, the industrial chandelier? Haunting.
At first, I thought the lawnmower lamp was scaffolding… how about making a scaffolding lamp?!
I gotta say.. all of those lamps are completely dope… but i’m somewhat of a car fanatic/mechanic and the Kozo 20 desk lamp just SCREAMS Robert.. plus it would an awesome belated birthday gift because my birth was March 23rd!!! =]
Kozo 20 Pipe Lamp is perfect combination of simplicity and form
I wonder if the tapes have music on them? Pop one in for a mysterious playlist. That would be awesome! The Cassette Tape Lamp Rocks.
The dog lamp was so awesome. It would be perfect for my bedside table.
The Erlenmeyer Flask Lamp has a style and ingenuity that you don’t see much anymore. I also like it because it would go great in my studio.
The Kozo pipe lamp is the nicest looking, I think. Really great color and it’s simple. I also really enjoy the look of the liquor lamps.
Kozo 20 Pipe Lamp is pretty sweet. Although the wine bottle chandelier does have me questioning the fate of our mini wine rack, the pipe lamp is extremely pleasing to my brain..
The cassette tape lamp was definitely my favorite. It would be easy enough to make, so I think I’ll try that out as a project.
Love the Hollywood Floor lamp. not only is it a talking piece for when you invite people over to see and compliment you in your choice of lighting apparatus, but also gives the allure of a sometimes active porn set (which depending on your company can be awesome, suck or be really really awesome).
I love the KOZO -LAMP! This is amazing an sustainable and reliable design!
Unlike the modern and trendy products. I would love to give this lamp as a Inheritance to my grandchildren… ( i bet its possible)
Go KOZO!
The Motorcycle lamp it’s great!
I like the pipe lamp!
Thanks for the giveaway…we love the Mason Jar Chandelier; you have inspired me to build a version of it for our patio !
senorpiero [at] yahoo [dot] com
I’ve been looking for an old studio light! I just cant find one that works!
Undoubtedly, for me it is non other than the Kozo 20 – pipe lamp, that wins the pot. Like written, what really got to me is the personality it has. It almost looks like something you want to talk to, when working or even just pondering on stuff – and what seems even weirder, but absolutely just, is that one may fully expect a response when doing so!!!
This is why i fell in love with lamp, upon first sight, and this explains why I felt so disappointed when it wouldn’t go out with me!
p.s. 1: The last part was just a little joke on my behalf, one I thought may increase my chances of winning this lovely lamp [both ways(!)]
p.s. 2 I mean, come on, what lamp would say no to a guy like me?!?!
The pipe lamp and the movie studio one really look neat.
Best Lamp by far is the Kozo 20 Pipe Lamp. It is perfect for the Man Desk or the working garage. It reeks manliness and I am pretty sure I will mistake it for a tool of some sort after an all night drinking session with the guys.
I need this lamp in my life as my guiding light towards my new marriage. This lamp can change lives.
Fav is definitely the Liquor Lamps. While the others made ideas swim around in my head, making a liquor lamp is really the only thing I could accomplish out of these.
the hollywood lamp is awesome
Love the cut off wine bottles!
The Kozo 20 by far. Perfect for any guy that works with his hands at all (or at least desires to). It’s raw and what you see is what you get.
Contest Closed! Congrats to Jeff
That dog Lamp is Ruff!