DIY Vintage Lamps to Glamorous #UsedHelps

Not long ago I came to the conclusion that I am a DIY Diva. I think it’s also important to confess that I am addicted to the hunt of a good deal but it’s really the whole process from finding the deal to up-cycling the item to something amazing that just gets me. Recently, I found these vintage tri-light lamps on UsedRegina.com and couldn’t help but snag them at a great deal.
 

The before and after really make a huge difference. I didn’t want to lose the vintage feel that originally attracted me to these lamps in the first place; I simply wanted to modernize them. The deep yellow with grey and teal were exactly the colours I wanted to pull from for my master bedroom. Oldies can be made goodies again with a little paint, a little vision and a lot of elbow grease; in the end you will be proud of your new babies.
 

Materials

2 white lamp shades proportionate to the lamp

1 can of silver chrome finish spray paint

2 cans of silver glitter household and craft spray paint

1 can of semi-gloss clear coat spray paint

Painters tape and plastic wrap (I used grocery bags)

*All items purchased at my local discount department store.

Instructions

1. Find a work space that will allow for over-spray. I chose to use a cardboard drop-cloth outside, on a calm day, away from everything. Tape your lamps everywhere you don’t want to have paint, or cover with plastic for larger areas.
2. You can spray your lamps however you like but I wanted to add a little glitz and glamour to these old ladies. I chose to spray the boring white shades with silver glitter spray paint. I didn’t want the metal hardware to be glittered as well ,so I made sure to cover those areas. I had never used this glitter paint before and quickly realized that it doesn’t cover as thickly as I wanted, so I had to use more to reach the desired.
3. I also knew my husband wouldn’t exactly want glitter everywhere (it drives him crazy) so after the glitter dried, I sprayed a thick semi-gloss clear coat on top to make sure the glitter would stay in place.
4. Setting aside the shades to dry, I began spraying the base, stem and hardware. The paint I chose provided good coverage for both metal (lamp hardware) and wood (stem of the lamps).

Tips

• Depending on the lamps, you may have to take them apart to avoid getting paint on portions you don’t want to be painted. Because these lamps were tri-light, there was a white fabric piece behind the metal screen on the base of the lamps where they also light up. I dissected the lamps to avoid spraying paint through onto the fabric and while I had the fabric out, I bleached them to brighten them up as well.
• When spraying any spray paint, spray approximately eight inches away in steady motions (back and forth), lightly coating. If you spray too much at once, the paint will not cover properly and you will be dealing with drips. I did two coats to avoid drips and to make sure the lamp hardware, base and stem were fully coated in the chrome paint.

I’m really happy with how these vintage lamps turned out, old and dated, to modern and glamorous. My husband wasn’t a fan of the lamps at all when I first asked him to go pick them up from the seller. In fact, he refused to help me with them. Since the big reveal with everything put together in our master bedroom, he really likes them. Sometimes you just need a vision, an open-mind and a little creativity.

Our master bedroom isn’t complete yet but these lamps look pretty fantastic in there. I’m thinking three square pictures with a splash of colours from the lamps aligned in a row right above the bed, drapes with a bit of pattern and, possibly a throw to finish off my bedroom makeover.

What do you think?

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Have you looked at your local UsedEverywhere.com site recently? I bet there are some pretty amazing deals to be found and I would love to hear all about them.
 

Have you taken the quiz to find out your BIG deal personality?

Here is the cast of BIG deal characters:

1. The DIY Diva – ain’t nothing you can’t do with a $1 Mason jar

2. The Hunter – all the deals will be yours. All of them

3. The Flipper – you love the hunt, but you love the ROI even more

4. The Savvy Spender – buy a little, sell a little, it’s all chill

5. The Happy Hoarder – you don’t want it, you NEED it

Which BIG deal personality are you?

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own.