Shining a Little Light on Things!

by Megan

3 Materials

It's cold and grey here, so I can't get outside to work on my many upcoming projects. So I thought I'd bring a little light into my life with a lamp redo!
Our living room has no overhead light, and we were currently using a good old fashion dorm room multi-directional floor lamp as lighting. I wanted something a little nicer, and something that shined light down on the seating area. I am a thrifty gal, so I went searching on Craigslist and found a three arm arc floor lamp (regularly $200ish) for a steal....

So we brought home our new (to us) lamp and started brainstorming. First things first, one of the sockets was broken, so Super Hubby had to fix that. That gave me time to make a plan of attack.

The shades were beige. REALLY beige. I am not a beige person. So I knew they would have to be changed. However, upon further inspection, the shades were pretty busted up, so they couldn't even be used as a base. Ok, Plan B.... Find shades and personalize them.... or make a shade out of something that isn't a lamp shade. What I really wanted was some type of beaded shade but I knew they were out of my price range, and I wasn't in the mood to fiddle with wire and beads to make one from scratch. While out shopping, I had just about settled on a plain shade to zshoosh up when inspiration hit me....

I found these beaded easter baskets at the discount store. Super Hubby thought I was crazy. But I loved the whimsical look of them and I knew they would take minimal work to personalize them. That way, if I got tired of them 6 months down the line, I could make new shades and not feel bad.

Despite thinking I was off my rocker, here is Super Hubby humoring me and snipping the wire off the baskets. (See the kitty in the corner watching him intently? This should have been a red flag for things to come!)

Voila! A Beaded Lampshade! Well, it will be in a few more steps. I had to retrofit it to the light fixture and make it a little more "ME".

I took the washer off the old shades and measured the hole to be cut in the mesh bottom of the basket. This allowed the shade to slip onto the lamp and be secured with the fittings that came with the lamp.

Then I added a little bit of ME. I love pom-pom trim, especially on lamps. It always invoked that gypsy/bohemian vibe to me. Plus its fun and unexpected, my two favorite words to describe my decorating style. I found this trim at JoAnn's and just glued it on with high temp hot glue (that will not be melted by the low watt bulb). I did my best to keep the pretty scalloped edge of the basket/shade.

Then, we installed the shades and put the lamp in place behind the couch... much to the interest of my naughty kitty who had been watching the whole process! (So far, he hasn't been able to jump high enough to cause a problem, but he is still just a little thing.)

And here it is, all three shades lit up! I love the shadows it creates and it gives us plenty of light in our seating area. It even has a dimmer so you can go from soft light to very bright.

I am totally in love with this lamp and i have so many ideas for creative lamp shades to switch out in the future! . This project was so much fun and it was nice to get my creative juices flowing while stuck inside during these cold months.

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3 of 15 comments

Pdudley on Feb 20, 2017
Great DIY and your tutorials under each picture are not only informative but you keep the attention of the reader with your wit and humor. Hubby is a keeper, for sure LOL. I think Kitty is admiring his future swinging perch, keep us posted. So glad you won the contest and you truly deserve this honor.

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- Megan on Feb 20, 2017
  To date, naughty kitty still doesn't do the cat thing very well so my lamp has been safe. Note: one of my next projects is a kitty tower. And Super Hubby is such a good sport. He's even started to come up with ideas of his own!
  
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Marj MRC Creations on Feb 21, 2017
What fun lamp shades! I love what you did to transform into your own unique piece. Nice!

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