I Made This Smart, RGB iPhone Lamp For Just £35
Let there be (colourful) light!
A colourful lamp was something that I wanted to add to my bedside table for a long time. I’ve seen countless setups on YouTube over the years that incorporate colour incredibly well, and I wanted to take a page out of their book and add some colour to my life.
However, there was one issue. I’m an iPhone user.
If you have ever looked for iPhone compatible smart home products, you would know that you can’t just find that ‘Works With Apple HomeKit’ sticker anywhere, like you often can for the Amazon and Google alternatives.
Apple’s focus on privacy is likely the reason why this is the case — and while it does mean that HomeKit products are harder to find, I would pick privacy over ease-of-access any day.
Anyway, my mission was simple: create a colourful lamp that I could control with my iPhone — without spending Philips Hue kind of money. I am a university student, after all.
This is what I came up with.
To create this lamp is incredibly simple — find an Apple HomeKit-compatible smart bulb, then combine it with a lamp that works with the bulb’s fitting. Sound’s easy, right?
Wrong.
Finding the perfect lamp
What was supposed to be the relatively easy job of finding a lamp turned out to be the exact opposite. In total, I spent hours browsing the internet for a lamp that would fill my room with colour — but, compatibility was a huge problem.
I browsed furniture site after furniture site; occasionally stumbling across a cool, modern looking lamp. After a brief moment of hope, a disappointed expression would fall upon my face when I realised the fitting doesn’t match.
Could I have bought an adapter to make the two compatible? Of course, but I didn’t want to risk affecting the speed of the device in my smart home.
Thankfully, IKEA would come to save the day when I found exactly what I was looking for — a spherical lamp that is compatible with E27 lightbulbs. Introducing, the FADO (white) lamp.
The lamp is 24 centimetres tall and has a diameter of 25 centimetres at its widest point. The cable is 185 centimetres long, which helps it reach far-away plug sockets — and the unit is easy to assemble.
There is also a smaller version of the FADO, which has a height and diameter of 17 centimetres, but is not compatible with the smart bulb I used for this project due to its fitting. I purchased the bigger version for £17 (US$19.76) plus delivery.
Let’s talk lightbulbs
A lamp is pretty useless without a bulb, so when researching which bulb is the best to create a colourful lamp, I was sure to consider as many options as I could.
Several hours of YouTube-watching later, the Nanoleaf Essentials A60 E27 bulb seemed to be the best bulb for what I was going for. You can purchase these from an Apple Store in the UK for £17.95 ($20.84) — however; I ended up purchasing a three pack on Amazon instead, as I told a family member about my idea and they wanted a lamp too.
Note: There are two versions of the NanoLeaf Essentials bulb available, one with an E27 fitting and the other with a B22 fitting. The B22 bulb is not compatible with the IKEA FADO bulb.
How to make a regular lamp smart
Okay, so you have your IKEA FADO lamp and your Nanoleaf Essentials bulb, but now you need to put the pieces together to make the real magic happen.
To get set up, the first thing you need to do is follow the instructions to add the bulb to the ‘Home’ app on your Apple device. This involves scanning a unique QR-code or typing in a code.
Make sure you are connected to a strong, home Wi-Fi network and have BlueTooth turned on to make this process easier.
Next, carefully screw the Nanoleaf bulb into the base of the FADO lamp. Plug the base into a socket and the bulb should turn on. If not, try tapping on the bulb’s icon in the Home app and it should power on. If you experience issues, make sure the FADO lamp’s switch is toggled to be on, the plug socket is turned on, and you have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled.
The bulb also recommends downloading the Nanoleaf app, which is a benefit as you can create or download custom scenes — instructions that can make the bulb pulse or flash in rainbow colours, and much more. All of this synchronises with the Home app, and is controllable with Siri.
Once you’re all set up, you are free to mess around with the lamp. Press and hold the icon (or ask Siri) to change the colour, change the brightness, apply a custom scene, or execute a Siri Shortcut.
Custom scenes can be applied with the Nanoleaf app, but the ‘Shortcuts’ app is also a great option for custom lamp settings. For instance, you can programme the lamp to turn on at a certain time of day in a certain colour, or turn off if you leave your house. You can also dim the light while turning it slightly orange for a warmer light in the evenings.
Final thoughts
The Nanoleaf and FADO combination of lamp is one of the best purchases I have made, making the hours of researching worth it. I have had great fun setting my lamp to pulse in different colours, stay a solid colour, or be used as a dimmable white lamp.
The device is fully controllable with my iPhone, MacBook, Apple TV and HomePod mini, which makes using it an absolute delight. And the best part? The lamp cost around £35 ($40) to make, which is great value for a smart device that can change colour at the tap of a button. I will certainly be adding more to my collection — and expanding my smart home to have more colour!
Mission accomplished.
Joe McCormick
Please note: The two links I have embedded in this article are not affiliate links. They will simply take you to the UK IKEA page for the FADO lamp, or the UK Apple page for the Nanoleaf Essentials bulb. There is no guarantee that these products are available in all regions.
