Yard Sale Lamp....painted...spruced up....my alltime favorite find!
It looked like a piece of junk, but I saw the possibilities. It is sentimental to me because the young man that I purchased it from was emotionally attached....said it was his grandmothers. I tried to talk him out of selling it, but he insisted that I take it for $2. I was emotionally attached before I got home with it. I wish I had a before photo, but this was long before I ever imagined that someday I would share it!
The finished refurbished lamp...a little black paint with gold brushed over, new fabric on the shade, and a bit of sparkle with the cording and lacy tie on. The shade trim came from a footstool that I found on the side of the road.
The large light bulb came with the lamp. It does not burn, but the other three bulbs provide enough light, so I added some putty on top to hold the shade on.
The shade was in such bad condition that I ripped the fabric off and cut a piece of bias shimmery lightweight fabric and sewed the ends. I fitted it over the frame and glued the edges on the inside.
I purchased packaged lace trim (Wright's), cut stips long enough to fold the edges inside and glued them all around the shade on the inside.
This is a beautiful effect when the lamp is on! I am very happy with the way it turned out!
I think of the grandmother that might have read or knitted by this lamplight every time I turn it on!
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 9 comments
-
Pat......I've not seen a bulb shaped like yours either. The ones I've had look like jumbo-sized regular light bulbs. They used to be available in hardware stores. If anyone finds a stash in an old store or basement or yard sale, i'd buy some. The support system for the shade would be a white glass bowl-like shade. The shade's small open base sits inside the metal rim (?) around the center bulb.(Yours looks like it has a screw hole in it, but the metal ring/rim around the base of the bulb looks a bit different than mine). The shade rests on the top rim of the 'bowl.' If I had a blog, I'd post a photo of mine. Sorry I'm no blogger and no idea how to post photo on this site. There should be three holes in your metal rim for the three screws that hold the glass shade in place. (Wish i knew the name for this but no time today to look it up). Hope this makes sense. You might look in 'antique' stores for other lamps to see what I'm describing. On the other hand, the lamp looks as if it works for you without the center bulb. Without seeing the rest of the lamp, I can't even guess at its origin. Might not be USA........ Em
-
Beautifully done! I happened to find the same type of floor lamp at my local thrift shop (I can tell by the bottom design), but the shade I detest. I'm going to give it a shot in redoing the shade! Thanks for the tips!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?