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August 1, 2014

Where has this week gone?  Is that distant light
the glow of an approaching weekend?
  
Yes, it is along with some ingenious Before & After Lamp makeovers!

Who would have thought that a simple can of
could make such a difference:
The beige lamps were nice but now that they're painted
blue they really pop - AND accent the blue in the drapes.

Something tells me that cans of spray paint are
going to figure prominently in today's projects!


Before                                                    After
LOVE the new elephant fabric shades.


3 Easy Steps To a New Lamp
1) Start with a flea market or thrift shop
used lamp and a can of RUST-OLEUM:


2) Buy an interesting used lamp shade
and stencil a pattern onto it:

3) Hot glue ribbon, fringe or an interesting
trim around the edge:


Enjoy your 'new' lamp!


Wouldn't this 'after' lamp be cute in a
little girl's room or in a dorm?
Sara of Clever Pink Pirate created a new lamp using $5 worth
of bargains from Goodwill.  Click here for the step-by-step tutorial.


You might find a lamp that just needs a simple update:


Fabric scraps + a shade's wire frame = Adorable!
The Sewing Loft


We've all seen lamps like the one on the
left at yard sales and thrift shops:
Spray paint on the lamp and fabric on
the shade create a brand new look.



What a scrumptious and interesting lamp base: 


 Paint highlights the intricate detail so interestingly.


Eccentric Leopard
Ruffled strips of fabric were hot glued to an old
lamp shade to create an entirely different look. 



 faux brass finish can be a little too shiny:
Tidy Mom
The base is so much more sophisticated when painted black.



Shades of Light
Subtle changes can make a startling difference.


This next transformation is almost magical.
A pair of lamps went from this:

to this:
Shabby Love
Viole!  Stunning.


This photo was the inspiration for the next lamp makeover:
 Notice the delicious pair of green ginger jar lamps?

Before                                                              After

In my bossy (and completely unsolicited) opinion, that navy
shade is too dated and dark for the base.  I'd choose a smaller
square shade and cover it with a pastel print fabric.



This dated pair of lamps was given a chic
paint job and contemporary lamp shade:
Before                                                 After
 Link
My only suggestion - I would have painted the metal
base at the bottom a dark navy to match the shade trim.


Such a sad pair of lamps:

But so happy now sitting pretty on each side of the bed:

Link


This lamp has an interesting silhouette:
Before                                                After
Southern Exposure
Now it looks like a vanilla triple scoop ice
cream cone instead of a chocolate one!


The pitiful thrift store lamp, left, was given a prolonged and useful life:
Design Sponge
Great choice of fabric. You'd be surprised at how
small a remnant you need to cover a shade.

Today's last lamp transformation is ingenious and down right adorable.

Before:  (oh, my!)

After (SO cute!)
Plum Doodles
Using a basket as a lamp shade is such a clever and
thrifty idea.  It looks perfect with the little hen.

Lamp makeovers are not only financially smart,
they can usually be done in a single weekend.

Look around your home - you might already have a 'before'!

5 comments:

  1. Some amazing transformations. Once again inspirational.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fun post today.
    I love all the colors and the shades.
    Painting anything white, like the chicken lamp changes it to beautiful and stylish.
    I once made a vase by gluing dry old artist brushes on a jar. Painted it all white and put a fern in it.
    It looked very stylish.

    cheers, parsnip

    ReplyDelete
  3. WOW you are one smart cookie...I love how unafraid you are to totally change an item that's pretty, and there you go making it awesome, wow you!!!! I'm a new visitor...I hate the lamp I have, thanks got tons of ideas, and isn't that what it's all about and you share, you don't sell, atta girl!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a difference - I love these ideas! My Mr. has one of those brass desk lamps - I wonder if he would notice if I changed it a little :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your table lamp looks beautiful and you did a great job painting it. I have always loved the round tables like that.
    table-lamps-designs

    ReplyDelete