Thrift Store Lamp Makeover

When I started out remodeling our spare bedroom I bought two lamps from the thrift store. I paid $2.50 for the short one and $5 for the tall one.

I took what I learned from Ryan Taylor when we redid my office lamps here.  So first I taped the cords and hardware and then I spray painted them with primer – in this case, automobile primer because it was what we had.

After I spray painted them white, I bought $10  shades and hot glued fabric to them.

I had to pleat the fabric on this shade because the top and bottom were not the same width – deceptive little shade.

Have you redone your own  lamps?

(If you look closely you’ll see the shade we chose for the walls.  I promise we’ll reveal the rest of the room soon!)

Old Lamp Redo: From Brass to Class

During my office makeover, I learned that Ryan Taylor prefers a neutral color palette.  This whole idea was revolutionary to me – it made planning and shopping so much easier.  After getting the basics done, we chose a few pops of color.  And what better color than power red?

The local thrift store supplied the biggest pop of color, my desk lamp.  We picked up this budget-friendly beauty for $10.

But what a sad, sad state this lamp was in.  Ryan first scrubbed it down with steel wool to remove any grime and rough up the surface. (Steel wool! Genius!)

Next we taped the cord to prevent it from turning red during the spray paint phase.

We braved the cold to apply several light coats of red.

Ryan found this fresh clean lampshade for about $15.  What a difference the crisp white makes.

Click here to see Ryan talk about the importance of lighting on Good Things Utah.  (He even used this lamp as an example!)

There’s more of this office makeover! Click here to see my bookshelf redesign, here for the before and after photos, and here to see it debut on ABC 4.)