Most of the stuff I've been given has been from my parents. Luckily, my mother has quite a bit of furniture in the attic that she wasn't currently using. The problem is, that our styles are very different. She's much more traditional in her design choices than I am. I tend toward more colorful and modern designs. This is where the beauty of spray paint comes in.
This is one of the lamps my mother gave me. There is also a matching one that's not pictured. They are great lamps that are in great condition and look just fine, but just don't mesh with my style (or my living room). So I took matters into my own hands.
I loved the shape of the base. It wasn't an ordinary stick base. It had beautiful curves to it. Lots of detail. It just needed another color.
I chose Krylon's "Rich Plum" in gloss. A gorgeous, vibrant purple with a glossy finish to die for. It took about two coats to cover the lamp and you would never know it wasn't made to be this color (except for the slight overspray on the cord. Oops!) But it's a real beaut.
Now for the lampshade. It had to go. I didn't like the tapered shape of it and I didn't like the beige-y color, either. It just wasn't working for me, so I knew I had to find something else. Originally, I had planned on buying a plain white lampshade in "drum" shape and doing something special to it. Maybe something I had pinned off Pinterest. But then the stars aligned. I found the most perfect lampshade at Lowe's in a floral pattern in the same shade of purple as my lamp. It's a match made in heaven.
I'm completely in love with this lamp now. Overall, this project cost me around $16. Approximately $13 for the lampshade and about $3 for the spray paint. I'd say it's worth it!
What do you guys think? When I first told my brother of my plans to redo this little sucker, he was kind of upset! He didn't understand why I wanted to "ruin" such nice lamps. But he came around, eventually. He admitted he was pretty impressed by the transformation!
