My cleaning got done quicker than expected, and after checking in Todd and finding out Beckett was still sleeping peacefully, I knew I had to swing by the local Goodwill and see what treasures I could snag in 10 minutes or less.
I also knew that I really wanted to find an old lamp to make beautiful again. I don't know about you guys, but I think lamps are stupid expensive. I mean, what's so fancy about a lamp anyway? Why the $50+ price tag? With a little vision, paint and fabric you can make a custom lamp and shade for a fraction of the price. Call me cheap, but that is right up my alley. I saw this example at Better After - the fabric reminded me of the stash I had leftover from my gossip bench project so I decided to put it to good use.
I really was hoping to score a nice, wide drum lamp shade, but Goodwill only had a vast selection of old, hideous shades there that looked complicated to recover. I thought about picking up a new drum shade at Target or Walmart, but what can I say - I REALLY liked the $2.99 price tag at Goodwill. So I decided I would conquer the complicated shade, for the sake of my wallet. My husband should be proud.
Look at that beauty of a lamp. The brass, the peach shade - ohhh, the horror. I immediately got to work spray painting the base white. I used a satin finish.
Looks better already, doesn't it?
Then I got to work on the shade. I experimented with a few different ideas before just ripping the old peach fabric off and starting from scratch with the wire. I then cut triangles of fabric to fit each panel in the wire shade. Then, I took out my trusty hot glue gun (we are getting nice and familiar these days - I feel like maybe I should give it a name).
Once the fabric panels were glued onto the wire, the lamp was complete. Couldn't have been easier, and it looks SO much better!
All in all, I think that was money well spent!
Have you redone any old home furnishings?
~miranda
