Thursday, August 26, 2010

Taking a Lamp from Gold to Great!

Wendy and I picked up two of these "lovely" gold lamps at an auction. Great lines, but rough colors...70's anyone?? I am such a fan of spray paint...it can add color to ANYTHING with a quick spray. My personal recommendation for spray paint? RUST-OLEUM Painter's Touch Ultra Cover...$3.48 at Home Depot. Trust me, you'll never try another kind again!
I sprayed the lamp semi-gloss black.

Then, of course, I needed a shade. I picked up some utility, linen-like fabric for $2.00 a yard a Jo-Ann Fabrics. I cut the fabric in to 12-inch strips, then pinned them together. (enough to go around the lamp shade with a bit left over) Remember, you will be using the reverse side of the fabric, so the seam will be seen. Be as neat as possible! I then sewed all of the seams. Once the seams were sewn, I put the fabric around the shade to measure size. You can not simply roll the shade on the fabric and cut out the outline. The seams will be very crooked! To do the back seam. Simply pull the sides together and pin a new seam, then stitch. The shade cover should fit back loosely over the shade. I was going for a bit of a messy look, so I tucked the fabric around the shade, pinned into place, cut off the excess, then used fabric glue to secure it to the shade.
 
To get the design, I took a graphic from The Graphics Fairy, printed it on printable cotton twill, then attached with glue and brads.
I think this lamp has a great vintage French look!!
I'm going to do the other lamp the same way....won't it make a GREAT pair??

1 comment:

  1. I can't believe this post doesn't have any comments. This looks wonderful! I love that lamp shape :)

    ReplyDelete