Yup......another Lamp Post

Hey Chicas!

My name is Caitlin and I have a lamp fetish.  Yeah, that's what I've figured out.  No matter where I am if I see a lamp, I have this inner voice telling asking me to buy it.  I really don't understand where it steemed from.  Like if you like to hoard collect things, generally it's becuase at some point, things were taken away from you.  I can never say that a lamp was taking away from me.  What?  You don't think that it's the same level...believe me if you were in my head, it would be.

Where was I.....right....my "problem".  Every where I go I always zero in on lamps, Winners, WalMart, Habitat for Humanity, auctions, thrift stores..see my drift.

So I was at Habitat for Humanity and zeroed in on my very ugly dated lamps.  Complete with the pleated shade.

There were actually 4 lamps that  I got in total, made up of 2 different styles.  They were marked at $15 a piece, so I was mentally calculating the costs to fix them up.  Because you can get awesome shades at a good price at Winners/HomeGoods so I figured, sure why not, I liked the lines and shape of them.

See the $15 price tag, well that's not really what I paid for them....

 You notice how the 1 is kinda rubbing off....obviously they had been sitting there for a while.  Other peoples loss is totally my gain.  There was an older lady working the cash, and she missed that little 1 before the 5 meaning they were rung in at $5 a piece!  I got all 4 lamps for under $22, taxes in, so a total score. :-)

They needed a little love, as I'm not really feeling a dusty pink with cheap shiny gold, just not quite my style.

Before pics for your enjoyment...

I actually took the lamp apart, and sprayed each piece individually (you totally don't have to do that you could just spray it together, whichever way floats your boat).  So after it was taken apart, I wiped the lamp down as it was major dirty/grimy, likely from the 80's.  First I grabbed Rust-oleum Spray primer in Grey to ensure that the shiny areas would take the paint.  Then I took Rust-oleum Navy Blue Gloss spray paint for the actual color.  It was amazing to cover, I really do think that the primer makes all the difference.  The whole process took about 2 days, as I let the parts for a set/cure for one whole day just to ensure that it was all set.  Better to be safe than sorry, I hate nicks and bumps, so anything extra to help avoid it is wonderful.

 The $5 lamp doesn't even look the same anymore....

The color is gorgeous deep true navy blue.  Sorry all the pictures were taken at night, the mornings are just to rushed to attempt pictures.  I think that the bottom middle color is the truest to real life color.  The difference that $12 in spray paint, and $20 drum lampshade can make. (It took me forever to find an off-white drum shade, ended up paying more than I wanted to at Sears but hey, I'd been looking for 2 weeks)  The coverage is excellent, and the cost is still well below what a good sized new lamp would run you.  Plus with this excellent color, they now match the bedding set, which, is nice, as the pink didn't really go!

So just one more look at the comparison.  Plus that white shade gives so much more light to the surrounding area, then the god awful pink.

So for few changes the impact is huge, really the paint and shade totally changes the look and feel of the lamp.  Before it looked totally dated and now it looks modern.  A definite score :-)

Have you done any DIY like makeovers lately?

Caitlin xoxo