UGLY LAMP Makeover

Hello Lovelies!!!

It's been far too long (so long that even hubs emailed me and told me to update my blog! - haaa!) so I guess it's about time to catch up.

I'll fill you in on all we've been up to around here over the next while, but, I was excited to show off my newest project: UGLY LAMP makeover!

Not sure if this is how things play out in your house, but this is what happens in mine:I had been searching for a buffet or sideboard of sorts to use for the dining room. Nothing to expensive...I've got kids and I know it will get damaged at some point...and I came across this beauty on Craigslist. $40 later and a trip into Vancouver and it was mine. I love the lines and shape of it, the femininity of it...so girlie and pretty. I had hopes of using it as a large dresser in the girl's room, but alas, it was too long, so, down it went to the dining room.

So, now the buffet needed lamps....so I moved the lamps from my bedroom to the buffet as they were the tallest lamps I had in the house. "Shop Your Home" as Nester says!

Next problem = now I have no lamps in our bedroom! Bahhhh, I can tell hubs is thinking this is going from bad to worse.

So, fighting my human nature and love of shopping I avoided going to Home Sense and buying the most lovely, pretty FULL PRICE lamps for my room and instead ended up at my good friend Sally's. Sally Ann's to be exact. And this is what I came home with:
At $9.99 each I couldn't pass them up. I loved the shape of them and knew with a bit of TLC they could be stunning. I had a pair of white round barrel shades at home from a previous set of lamps that were 'busticated' by you guessed it - kids - but I saved the shades for such a time as this.

My plan was to spray paint them a metallic chrome silver so they would have a beautiful reflective quality and look elegant and pretty in our room. This is the photo journal of what happened next:
|From left to right |
Top row: Lamps in garage ready to be primed | my friend SPRAY PAINT - primer, silver and clear gloss top coat |one primed one to go |one silver one to go!

Bottom row: Lamp inside to inspect and give final verdict | shade option 1 | shade option 2 | final verdict = don't like them! Silver is not chrome finish at all...next step..find paint in the house and redo them!

So, last night after my house was still, the windows were open and a cool breeze was coming in I did what any mother would do: re-do them in the peace and quiet!! I decided to avoid the metallic thing and stick to a neutral color as I change my bedding often. I love the trim work color of our house, its an antique white color. So I pulled out our gallon of paint and went for it.

First I rubbed down the high spots with the candle to keep the paint from adhering in certain spots - give it a more rubbed/antiqued finish. Then I grabbed a brush and painted.
I painted two coats last night and rubbed off the high spots in between coats. Hubs even commented on them this morning and said he really liked them. I did one more coat today and then sprayed them with the clear top coat and here is the end result:
And yes, if you look close enough there is a faint round ring on my table - apparently the paint wasn't totally dry when I put the lamps there for their photo shoot! Ooooppps!

Total cost:
Lamps: 2 @ $9.99 (no tax at Sally's!)
Spray paint: 3 @ 4.47 (but I will return the silver because its junk!)

So for $30 +/- a few pennies I will new beautiful lamps for our bedroom. You can't get one lamp at Home Sense for that!!!!

I also have visions of attaching a wide band of lace to the shade or hanging a tassel from the lamp base itself...if I find something that will work when I go to the USA next I'll show ya!

Next project: Laundry room....making it pretty so I want to fold laundry!