Vintage Lamp Makeover

August is winding it’s way down already, I’m seeing more and more back-to-school posts, I feel and smell fall in the air and I am just overcome with the abrupt end of summer.  Seriously.  How does it go by faster every single year?  How do I always feel like it flew right by before I even knew it arrived?  Might have something to do with living in Ohio – I need to move to a location that has less seasons 🙂

Today I have a fun project to share with you – it’s time for a Dose of DIY!  This time we are sharing lamps.  I’ve got a fun Vintage Lamp Makeover for you, and then you can hop over and see the lamps my friends have to share.

 My Grandma had these 3 lamps in her living room.  That was the only light for the room.  (There was a small light on the desk – for extra lighting when paying pills I suppose.)  I never really thought about the lack of a ceiling light until we were cleaning out my Grandma’s house and discovered the living room was rather dark once the lamps had been removed!

 All my life, as a child, teen, and young adult I thought these lamps were hideous.  They looked like someone used a toothbrush to flip some gold paint all over them to glam them up a bit, and the effort was a total fail.  The shape was odd, the color ugly, and the shades!  Those gold pieces are little gold plastic pieces glued on.  They showed the darkened, dust of age too.  I suppose my Grandma saw some beauty in them though I never could see it myself!

After my Grandma died and we were going through her house, sorting through things and deciding what should be done with all of it, I eyed those lamps one more time.  And somehow I just couldn’t put them in the goodwill pile.

‘Don’t get rid of those lamps please!’ I asked my parents, ‘those are vintage and I bet they might be worth something.’

The looks my parents, siblings, and husband gave me said I had finally completely lost it.  But I have somehow developed this thing about vintage stuff.  It’s hard to just get rid of it!  And somehow I was seeing those lamps in a different light than I ever had before. (no pun intended there 😉 heehee!)

‘Take those horrid shades off and give the lamp bases some paint, and they just might turn out cute!’ I said to my sister and my Mom.  They shrugged and said I was welcome to the lamps.  I happily hauled them home!

 And there they sat for months.  I took the wiring out and tossed the old, discolored cords.  I bagged up all the hardware so I wouldn’t lose it.  I painted the bases.  I added a coat of glaze.  And still they sat, unfinished.

 And I started to rather like those ugly, old lamps!  The green paint and champagne glaze made that odd shape look cool in a vintage-y, retro way.  My Grandma would surely chuckle to see what I’ve done with some of her old stuff!

 I thought I’d get them rewired and add some old, empty shades and take them to the HobNob Market in May.  But I didn’t get to it.  Then I thought I’d get them all fixed up and back together for my event at Avon Lake.  But I didn’t get them done for that either.  I ended up with a mainly red, white, and blue theme going on for Avon Lake and decided the green lamps would be better another time.

The event at Avon Lake was the last weekend in July.  Since then I’ve been recuperating from the stress, illness, and heartache brought on by a string of unfortunate incidents, spread out over the weeks leading up to the event. (don’t ask, just know that I’ve had a lot I’ve been dealing with lately which has led to a lack of projects getting done and a lack of blog posts) I’ve also been trying to get caught up on the stacks of wholesale orders that keep pouring in!  (not complaining one bit about all the orders – we feel very blessed!)

So when I double checked my blog hop category for this month and found the category to be lamps I breathed a sigh of relief.  I had THREE lamps that just needed new wiring added and their hardware reattached.  Rewiring lamps is easy.  I didn’t take pics of the process with these, but you can find detailed instructions on how to rewire an old lamp here.

 The lamps went back together quickly and easily.  My husband got the new cords for me way back in May when I thought I would finish them up for HobNob.  He buys them at Wal-mart – they are about $3 there compared to $7 or $8 from Lowes.  So if you have a lamp to rewire, shop your local Wal-mart for the cord.

 The shade frame I used is from a thrift store – you can usually find lamp shades for reasonably low prices at Goodwill and thrift stores.  Just look for a fun shape and size and take the fabric off.  I added some vintage lace to this one just for fun.

While not really the style of my home, these lamps are really rather fun!  I wish I had a basement recreation room to add them to.  They will most likely go to my next pop-up shop event or over to the shop where I sell my handmade items and vintage finds.  Unless of course my brother or sister decides they want them now that they are all spiffed up!

So what do you think?  Definitely not a style everyone would love but don’t they look better now?  Amazing what paint can do 🙂

I used Paint Couture in Emerald.  Emerald is now a retired color, but we have some beautiful colors to pick from for you paint projects!  And I have one quart of Emerald left if anyone wants it!  I added a champagne glaze, also from Paint Couture.  I love these products so much – it’s about time to get the paint brush out again!

Jill

Now head over and check out my friends lamps!

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