Every side table needs a beautiful lamp on it, right? But lamps can cost well into the hundreds of dollars, so a classy DIY option is always a great way to go! Here’s how I made over a dull, seen-better-days wooden lamp with just some spray paint and a new shade.
I looked up this morning and realized that it’s Thursday. Thus is the beauty of summer vacation… you forget what day you’re on. Unfortunately, you also forget to post on schedule. Anyway… I made over a lamp! And I did it in time for Erick’s sister, Irene’s visit to Canada! Go me! (Those who know me know that my home is littered with half-completed projects whose deadlines have sailed past many moons ago.)
I took this:
Very garage-sale-1970s-cottage-chic, non? It was a hand-me-down from my mom, who knew that I was looking for a lamp for the guest room but had zero dollars to spend. Well I turned it into this:
Nothing a little spray paint and a fancy-pants new shade couldn’t fix. The best part is that the entire project cost me $2.24! I already had the spray paint (leftover from the nightstand makeover), sandpaper, and green tape, as seen here:
The lampshade actually took longer to find than the rest of the project put together (which basically went like this: sand base lightly, spray paint lightly three to four times, let dry, admire). I bought one from Home Depot that was too big, and then it took several shopping trips to finally land on this $15 taupe faux-silk beauty at Homesense. So why did the project cost $2.24, you ask? Because I had a $15 Homesense giftcard! Teacher gifts for the WIN! All I did was pay the taxes.
Let’s have one more “after” pic!
I love that the lampshade is just a tone darker than the wall colour. The one I had originally bought was almost identical to the wall colour, and I see now that it would have looked really bland and washed out. When I get around to cleaning up the rest of the room have a moment, I’ll take a photo of the whole room so that you can see how it’s coming together. I still have to hang all the artwork, but since we’ve only been living here for nine months, I figure, why rush things? 😉
So how about you? Any quick-fix projects on the horizon? Leave a comment and let me know!
