Hello Everyone! Life has gotten in the way of blogging recently, but I’m making it a priority. When I started this blog, I didn’t have a direction, I just needed something to do after grad school. This year I’ve spent remodeling my house and doing home updates for my mom and grandma helped me to discover a passion...creating beautiful things. Now I have a direction for this blog. So, without wasting more time talking about myself....
The Ugly Lamps
I stopped by Goodwill, not looking for anything in particular, and stumbled upon these beauties. Knowing my mom had been looking for large lamps, I scooped them up. (Pardon my cat’s bath in the background...she does what she wants).
The Goal
I decided I wanted them to look like these lovely lamps from Hobby Lobby. While I wouldn’t call the Hobby Lobby lamps overpriced, I’m far too
Buy it here
Step One
I wanted to use what I had on hand (I keep a collection of leftover and clearance paint) so I used a gray tinted Valspar primer leftover from a project I helped my cousin with. I wanted a layered look with some depth, so I figured the primer color wasn’t that important. This is what it looked like after a coat of primer. Most of the brass was covered, so I was satisfied with one coat.
I needed to choose a paint color. I had several laying around from white to cream to gray, brown, and black. I settled on an almost white gray. Here’s what it looked like after one coat of paint.
My plan was to use dark wax to give the lamps a turned wood look, but I wanted to use what I had on hand. So, I searched my collection for something that would work. After testing stains over the paint on a paper plate, I chose to use Minwax stain in Jacobean. Using the same brush I used to paint the lamps, a cheap 3” dollar tree brush, I made horizontal strokes, blending until I achieved the look I was going for, which was a bit streaky. I dabbed my brush off on a paper plate before brushing on the lamps. I dipped my brush in the paper plate instead of the stain can when I was able to in order to avoid going overboard...something I often do. Here is what they looked like after the stain was applied.
I wasn't unhappy with the results at this point, but they were a bit shiny. I gave them some time to dry...and they were still shiny. The stain is oil based, so I didn't expect them to be matte. I decided to finish them with a matte clear coat, but I didn't know which one to use. I was wary about using anything water based because I didn't want it to separate, but I also didn't want to mess up or further blend my current finish by brushing something on. I ended up using Krylon Matte Clear Coat, a spray clear coat. And here are the results.
I am so happy with the results. They don't look exactly like my inspiration photo, but that makes me love them even more. They are perfect for my mom's space. I had to do a side-by-side to believe they were the same lamps as before.
My mom, who lives far away, sent me this photo of the lamps in her living room.
Update: The lamp shades that came with the lamps weren't the best choice for her home. So I happened upon these lamp shades at Goodwill and purchased them for $2.99 each. By the way, what's up with $20 plus lamp shades in every store? I was shocked at the price tags. I told you, I'm cheap.
Now for the grand totals.
Lamps: $5.99 each, total $11.98
Primer: Free (already on hand)
Paint: Free
Stain: Free
Top Coat: $3.98, total $3.58 after my dad's veteran's discount
Shades: $2.99 each, total $5.98
Grand Total: $21.54 for both lamps and shades.
In all, the lamps aren't perfect, but they're exactly what we needed. And it was a fun DIY to do with my mom. I can't wait to visit my mom and share a photo of the lamps with their new (thrifted) shades.
