Stage Designs

Throwback: Trash Cans Are Beautiful

Rusty Burchard at Ridge Church in Charlotte, North Carolina brings us this beautiful repurposing of trash cans.

Rusty bought 15 trash cans at Ikea (for $1.99 each) and drilled holes in the bottom. He then attached an Ikea lamp socket set inside of the trash cans ($4.99 per socket set). Then he hung the lamp sockets from the truss at random lengths. Each one has a trash can lamp has a 60-watt bulb inside and is wired to a dimmer.

To add a little extra light he used six LED par cans on the sides of the truss to add color. The total cost for the set was $105.

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9 responses to “Throwback: Trash Cans Are Beautiful”

  1. Aaron Foster says:

    Anyone have a link to the lamp sockets? I’ve been looking everywhere.

  2. Tom says:

    Well done! Simple, cheep, and a great idea!

  3. Eva says:

    What color trash cans are these?

  4. ken says:

    Beautiful design … You said, “Each one has a trash can lamp has a 60-watt bulb inside and is wired to a dimmer.”

    What type of dimmer are you describing?
    Does this mean the lights are connected to the light board?
    Does each light require a separate electric outlet?

  5. rusty says:

    I used a drop cord and hooked three lights per dimmer channel. I just used a small dimmer pack that was hooked to the light board. I run them at about 50%you brightness.

  6. Christina Roberts says:

    Did you use a paddle bit or a hole saw on the trash cans?

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