Taking a Vintage Pendant and Adding Wallpaper for a Fresh Look
I was given the opportunity to try a new wallpaper product from Walls Republic www.wallsrepublic.com. These particular wallpapers use a newer technology of pasting the object surface rather than pasting the paper first, cool, right? I have never really used wallpaper before besides lining drawers, so I was willing to challenge myself, and pick items that could be papered using the leftovers rather than tackle a"wall" to paper. Walls Republic have mega choices for paper in every style and color you can think of, so when you go to the site have fun! Plus they ship out up to 5 samples free, so you can see the paper in person before ordering...a nice perk!
I had this vintage pendant light in my stash for years and once the wallpaper arrived, I knew this shade would be one of the perfect candidates for this project. You see, I had 3 items in mind..a chair, a bi-fold door and this pendant lamp. .Oh boy, this lamp was not the prettiest flower in the pot, but I could see the potential. I disassembled the lamp so I could paint the parts later, and concentrated on the shade since that was what I was going to wallpaper. I first removed the old fabric trim and since there were some age discolorations on the inside of the shade, I painted the inside.
I laid the shade on the back side of the wallpaper that I unrolled a bit, and began to roll the shade holding on to the paper end so I could determine how much paper I would need to cover the shade. I was sure to leave about an inch overlap at the end. Walls Republic suggests that ends meet rather than overlap on walls, and that makes sense, but since I was doing a lampshade, I wanted a bit of an overlay. I cut off the piece and lined up the straight edge of the paper to the edge of the lampshade. On the other side of the shade will be the extra width of the paper that will be trimmed off after I pasted down the paper. I got my large paint brush and started brushing the paste onto the shade...remember, you don't need to apply paste to the paper but right to the surface of the object. Try to avoid getting the paste on the surface of the paper, if I did, I used a damp soft cloth to remove....
I continued to paste and slowly roll the shade onto the wallpaper, smoothing gently as it rolled until the whole shade was pasted and the wallpaper was in place. Then I went back over the paper with one hand inside the shade following my other hand on the surface using the wallpaper brush to smooth out the air bubbles to the sides until the surface was smooth. Having my hand inside ensured that I didn't press too hard on the shade and dent it. I let the shade dry before I trimmed off the excess paper on the end. Walls Republic have a nice hanging instructional that is included with the wallpaper complete with drawings which always helps us visual people!!
I knew I was going to add ribbon trim to the ends of the shade, so if my cut line wasn't exactly straight that was ok because it was going to be covered by the ribbon. I was so lucky to find only 2 ribbons that came close to matching the colors in the wallpaper and I grabbed them...plus, at Hobby Lobby, they were on sale for 50% off...can I hear an Amen!! I used the hot glue gun to attach both ribbons, first the larger ribbon in blue, then the thinner cream ribbon.
I reassembled all the lamp parts, after I used Windex to clean off the glass prisms, then added the shade. One last step I did was to take the creamy color paint and dry brushed the chain. I didn't want to completely cover the whole chain with the paint, for I like to see the metal coming through. You could also make a chain cover in a color matching the fabric would be pretty too.All finished and ready to hang..I love how it seems to breathe a fresh breath- like putting on a new floral dress after wearing long underwear for months...HA! Can you tell I live in Upstate NY?
Seeing vintage in fresh new ways is always inspiring and keeps perfectly good treasures out of the dumps!
See my other posts on other items featured using Walls Republic wallpaper, and more detailed text.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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I am inspired!! great projects to try :)
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Thank you @Kerry I was surprised how well the wallpaper worked on all the projects!
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