Kiss Your Brass Goodbye! My $21 Lamp Revamp

by Courtney @ All Things New Again

$21

Easy

Hello, 2015! Time to finish up all of the projects I started last year...like this lamp revamp. I scored an old brass lamp for $4 at a yard sale last summer. I found the lampshade at Goodwill for $5. The most expensive part was the new electrical kit, which cost $12 at the hardware store. (The American Paint Company products I used were leftover from prior projects.) The entire project cost $21---and it looks awesome in my living room!
Here's how I did it.

brass lamp revamp, chalk paint, crafts, lighting

I started with the yard sale lamp base. It was sturdy and solid, but ugly and outdated. I used American Paint Company all-natural clay chalk and mineral paint. The color is called Born on the 4th, the same dark blue I used on a few other projects in my living room.

(Sorry about the little photo-bomber! This is the only picture I could find of this step.) This photo shows how nicely the paint covered the brass. This is the first coat. I let it dry completely and applied a second coat for complete coverage. I sealed it with American Paint Company Top Coat.

The lamp did not come with a lampshade. I figured I would just buy a new one. I bought several new ones, but none of them fit right. I ended buying this lampshade at Goodwill. It seemed the right size and shape, but it was ... icky. I cleaned it with a lint roller to remove dust and little hairs. Then I painted it with another color called Home Plate. This photo shows the "before and after" side-by-side. Big difference!

Then I got a great idea to stencil 9,542,367 curly-cues onto the lampshade. Ugh! After stenciling the first 4 curly-cues, I kind of lost interest and put the project aside. But it's a NEW YEAR and time to finish up OLD PROJECTS! Here's the finished lamp:

For more information on this project, including details on how I created the gold shimmer around the lamp base, please visit our All Things New Again Blog. And if you are ever in Leesburg, Virginia, please visit our shop, All Things New Again. Our coffee pot is always on!

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4 of 7 comments

Hannah V on Jan 08, 2015
Cute!

1 Reply
B. Enne on May 18, 2015
hahahaha I chuckled when I saw your little one in the 2nd pic--too cute! The lamp looks good!

2 Reply
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- Courtney @ All Things New Again on May 20, 2015
  @B. Enne He is so funny! When I try to take his picture, he makes faces and runs away. When I don't want him in the picture, he creeps right in! :)
  
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- B. Enne on May 21, 2015
  @Courtney @ All Things New Again LOL sweet! :) Those times are precious. I was happy that the school photographer came when mine had missing front teeth...it was perfect! We have the crying ones with Santa too...
  
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