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Tag: Lamp reVamp

5 Minute Lamp Revamp with Spray Paint and Ribbon

For a while, I was on the hunt for a pair of lamps for the dining room buffet. They couldn’t be overly large, but something that would be unique and add a soft glow.  I had brought home a few options, but nothing was quite right.  Then one day when randomly shopping at HomeGoods for another project, I spotted this treasure –>

It wasn’t perfect, but immediately I had an idea up my sleeve.

Could I ever just leave anything alone?  NOPE!

My immediate idea was to spray paint the globe, but I wasn’t sure what color.  Should the lamp be subtle or dramatic?  Since the lamps were a nice piece of change (around $30 x 2), I thought a quieter color would “live” longer.  So, I hit up my favorite spot at my favorite home improvement store and chose a taupe color with a hint of gold.  Interesting, right?

The color name is Caramel Latte  – sounds scrumptious (I must have missed my morning coffee that day and got my fix another way, hehe).

Before starting the exciting transformation, I covered all the areas of the lamp that I wanted to protect.  So ONLY the basket-style globe was exposed and ready.

Now, I was armed and ready! I started off spraying my new fav color on the black globe area of the lamp. Nope, didn’t work. 

I wanted it to be lighter, so instead I first spray painted the globe white (basically as a primer)…

…THEN applied the Caramel Latte Color.  Yes, that’s what I wanted!

Perfection – DONE! well maybe not?

You know me…  I can never leave well enough alone.  I wanted to embellish the shades a little, so I decided to add two rows of ribbon in a taupe and burnt orange color.

Adding Ribbon to Embellish a Shade

  1. At the lampshade seam, dab a small amount of hot glue on the shade and attach one end of the ribbon.
  2. Wrap the ribbon around the entire shade (no need to glue all the way around). Trim the ribbon, fold over the edge so it doesn’t fray, and glue.
  3. Complete!

In about 10 minutes (well, for me it was 20 because I had two), these lamps got a total makeover and are completely unique for my space!

I hope I’ve inspired you with my Lamp Revamp to think-outside-the-box and create or transform something in your home.  Sometimes with a little spray paint and an idea, your options are limitless!

I link my projects to some of these parties: Skip to My Lou, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch, Today’s Creative Blog, Stories of A to Z, All Things Heart & Home, Savvy Southern Style, House of Hepworths, Finding Fabulous, Creation Corner, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots and Jello, Thrifty Decor Chick, Tip Junkie

Trash to Treasure: Nursery Lamp Makeover

It’s always fun to make treasure out of trash!

A few weeks ago I was visiting a friend and sharing with her my experience on revamping a recent lamp project.  In turn she said she had acquired a lamp that was from her husband’s childhood, but had no idea what to do with it.  After a trip to the basement to scrounge through a few boxes, she came back with quite the “trash”.  It really wasn’t trash, it was just in desperate need of a makeover to give it new life.

To keep it in the family, her desire was to put it in her son’s room and I had the perfect idea!

Once I got the lamp home, I took it apart from head to toe and snapped a picture, just in case I forgot how to reassemble it later.  The lamp needed to be rewired and since I had just finished my How-To Rewire a Lamp tutorial, I was experienced enough to make the proper updates.  As you can see from the before pictures, the brass had tarnished from age and the colors were drear and in need of a revamp.

I started off by hand sanding each part of the lamp to give it a fresh start before painting.  The horse was a little tricky to sand, but I was able to get into some of the grooves…

Armed with “my staples” (not real staples, I mean spray paints), I was ready and off to transform this little horsey!

Ba-bye colored horse – Now you’re going to be a horse of a different color.  I spray painted the horse with 3 coats of Rust-oluem Winter Gray (same color as my lamp revamp), the other parts of the lamp (base and tubing) white, and finished it with a top coat of crystal clear enamel.

I had mixed feelings about the lampshade.  I actually had planned on replacing the old shade with a new crisp, white style.  I even bought a new one but it didn’t seem to be the perfect fit.  The existing shade was oval shaped to match the lamp base.  So I said, O heck with it, let’s reuse the shade and simply dress it up by giving it new life with a stylish ribbon.

Before being completely done with this Lamp reVamp, the horse was missing something… he needed a bit of color, so with a small brush and cobalt blue paint, I outlined the edge of it’s saddle to add the perfect finishing touch.  And then…

… it was done!

Again, here is the before…

And here is how the trash was turned into treasure…

Thankfully my friend LOVED the lamp and was so happy to add this new treasure to her son’s bedroom!  What treasures have you made from trash?