Thrift Store Lamp Makeover
Giving thrift store finds a makeover is a great way to decorate your home on a budget! I love shopping for secondhand finds and giving them a makeover. When I stumbled upon this large wooden lamp at my local thrift store, I just knew it had to come home with me.
My secondhand lamp is large and even came with a brand new shade (score!) but it wasn't exactly my style. To give it that modern look that I love so much, I painted the base and recovered the lampshade.
This is a thrifty project that is easy to accomplish and doesn't take long, both criteria for me as a busy working mom.
First, I spray painted a metallic brass color around the top where the light bulb screws in. The brass was a great improvement from the old gold color.
Then I covered the lamp base with a primer followed by a coat of satin enamel paint that cures hard and results in a beautiful glossy finish.
While the paint was drying, it was time to update the lampshade. I wanted to give it a little pizzazz and had seen velvet lampshades popping up online.
I remembered a bag of gorgeous blue velvet fabric I scored at the thrift store ages ago and there was just enough to use for my lampshade (don't you love when things work out like that?).
I traced the edge of the shade onto the backside of the fabric and then cut it out, leaving a small overage along the cut to allow for the fabric to fold over the edge of the shade.
I used spray adhesive to adhere the velvet onto the lampshade. I found it worked best to work with the adhesive in small sections at a time.
See how pretty this lamp makeover turned out! And it was such an affordable project thanks to thrift store finds and inexpensive paint.
To complete the lamp, I added a couple of DIY tassels around the neck. I think they are the perfect finishing touch!
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Very beautiful
I love thrifting too
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Now that’s sharp. I just love it. Wonderful transformation. Thank you
Frequently asked questions
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What did you do with the edge of the material to adhere/hide raw edge? Not sure how you traced pattern enough to cover the entire old shade. I was thinking of using a lighter material, so light could show through. Would that work? Sorry I’m not very crafty. Great idea.
Could I just spray a desired color of paint directly onto the shade?