Showing posts with label Recover Lamp Shade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recover Lamp Shade. Show all posts

October 8, 2014

Always Never Done: How to Spray Paint Old ( Glass, Wood, & Metal ) Lamps


Well hello friends and hello fall! This is Amy, back from Always Never Done and with the close of summer and warm days coming to an end, I have been busily trying to finish all my outdoor painting projects before the weather gets too cold. This means all spray painting projects front and center immediately!

May 18, 2012

DIY Industrial {style} Expandable Light



One day while browsing Etsy I cam across this super sweet vintage light- only problem...it sold for 1200$. 
Yup. One thousand, two hundred dollars. Now remember- it is authentically old and stuff, so that maybe counts for something.
{I purposely did not provide a link to this sale- cause I don't want to screw up someone's business/livelihood- so I didn't want to link my "fab" DIY to their sale--comprende?}
 
OK- back to the light- the second I saw it, I knew two things.
{1} I wanted it as a sconce for my spare bedroom.
{2} I knew I could make my own!
What You Need: 
Tin Funnel {from Harbor freight- 5 bucks}
Frack Mirror {from Ikea- 5 bucks}
 Light Kit  or salvage old one- {dismantled old light- zero dollars}
Vintage looking or "cool" light bulb {depends on which you buy}
 
This project was so super easy- once you have the right supplies. You read the supplies right- the Frack is a mirror from Ikea. It's in the bathroom supply section of the store and comes with a sweet expandable arm. 


Instead of buying a light kit I used the innards of an old light. I glued the base of that light {that metal pole} to the base of the funnel. Then glued the pole at the end of the light to the screwable portion of the Frack mirror.

 
I used clear automotive glue to adhere all the pieces together. It's supposed to be good for high temps- but I haven't given the lamp a good trial run...so I guess we'll see! {I'll keep ya posted! ;-)  } There's probably a zillion ways to put these items all together- but it was one of those things where this wasthe stuff on hand and went for it.
 I super love how the light can be expanded over your head for easy reading- or not. The arm swings- so the light can stay against the wall- or the window. It really makes for a great bedside reading lamp- something unique and vintage-y looking. I know some folks dig the original- and wouldn't think twice about the 1200 price tag...but my heart goes pitter-patter for a good deal and a great DIY.

 Here's a few bonus shots- from the post with new map art I just made.
You can see how the expandable piece moves in and out. It also swings side to side, so it can be moved out over the bed- or against the wall, out of the way.

What do you guys think- original or knock off?

July 22, 2011

✥ Finished Crate & Barrel Knock Off Lamps ✥




The other day I recovered that melted lampshade with burlap which gave the shade {and the lamp} a whole new life. This project was similar, but with a few tweaks due to the fabric chosen. NowI'm recovering lamp shades for the Crate & Barrel Mercury Glass knock off I did. If you remember back, I got one Restoration Hardware shade from Saver's Thrift Store for $3, and then bought another with the same shape and size from WalMart for 10 bucks. So now I'm in 13 bucks for two shades. I've been looking for grey fabric for month and a half and finally found some I liked for $1.50 a yard. Well worth the wait!

▷ I used about 1/2 a yard of fabric per lamp shade- but when you buy your fabric you should allow for 3/4-1 yard of fabric each.
▷The only difference between covering this lamp shade with a light cotton fabric and covering the last one with burlap -  you MUST iron your fabric.  You should iron all of the fabric, but especially the seam where the fabric will overlap. This is super important if you want your lampshade to look store bought. At the seam, fold a flap of fabric between 1/4"-1/2"wide inwards, making sure it's straight, and iron that seam well.
▷Lay the fabric on a smooth surface and spray the side fabric that will be against the shade with a light coat of spray adhesive.
▷Begin rolling the shade onto the fabric and adhesive, pressing the fabric firmly against the shade and smoothing any wrinkles as you go.
 

▷You can use glue or the peel and stick "Stitch Witchery" to hold the fabric in place, rather than a glue gun (like with the burlap shade I recovered.) I think this was a good choice with a thin fabric and the seam is well, seamless!





After ages of looking at mismatched shades I finally have this project finished! Hallelujah! I KNOW all of you understand how crazy this can make you- to have this "sore spot" right in the middle of your room!



Here's the final comparison of all three lights- my two thrift store knock offs and the Crate and Barrel original. Of course mine aren't an exact copy, but in total I saved 280 bucks and I think that mine have the same feel as the inspiration. I am pretty proud of how the faux mercury glass turned out.

Thanks for reading!


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July 7, 2011

✥ Salvage A Melted/Damaged Lamp Shade ✥




I have this little wicker lamp leftover from my old office {job}. I used it briefly in my home office. But I put it too close to the desk shelf and the shade melted.

I was going to put the lamp up for sale for a few bucks- actually I did list it- but then realized I'm throwing away money.

Why not try to fix the shade and sell it for more? I still probably wouldn't keep it, as it never really "went" with what's happening in the rest of the house.

So- The BIG question- will recovering a lamp shade hide/fix the fact that it was damaged?
I chose to recover the shade with burlap for two reasons.
(1) I think it works with the wicker. (2) I wanted something sturdy that will hold its shape.
Recovering a lampshade is pretty easy. Just a few tricks to help you do it.
You want to cut out a piece of fabric large enough to not only cover the shade but also provide an inch of extra fabric on all sides.
I did this by simply rolling the shade along the fabric and tracing the outline with a marker.
Then go back over that line and make a second line one inch larger. This is the line you will actually cut.
The side you drew on will be the same side you will be attaching to the shade. I used some spray adhesive to attach the fabric to the shade. {I priced it out and paid 5 bucks at Walmart. It would've been a little cheaper if I had used a 40% off coupon and gotten it from JoAnn's.}

This is important you need to start attaching the new fabric to the old fabric seam. Then you will wrap the fabric around the shade, smoothing it as you go, until you end at the old seam. If you don't create your new seam over the old one you'll be able to see two seams when the light is on.
At the seam you should fold over the fabric to make a clean edge and use hot glue to secure it.
{If you're using a soft fabric, like silk, it's a good idea to fold over your fabric where the seam will be and iron it so it will look crisp.}

Next you'll wrap the excess fabric around the edges of the shade and use hot glue to attach it to the inside.
 Because my shade was warped I attached the fabric more securely to the tops and bottom and only firmly secured the fabric to the undamaged portions on the shade.


Once I finished, I staged the lamp and took some photos  for the sale listing. 
But when I saw the pics the lamp looked like something was missing. It was a little to plain. What do you think?





I decided some typography was in order. I turned to Microsoft Word and typed up something to give the lamp more interest and character. 
A "No. 301" to be exact.

I printed it up and planned to tape it to the inside of the shade, as I did with the French Bee Lamp I made last week. Because the fabric was so thick I could hardly see my stencil. I tried darkening the stencil with a black sharpie but it was still too difficult to see.


So I finally cut it out and taped it to the outside. I wanted the writing to be an even one inch from the bottom of the shade but a strait piece of paper wouldn't do that. So I made several cuts on the top and bottom of the stencil so that I could curve the paper slightly.



I used a thin brush and black craft paint to fill in the stencil. The stencil was a little flimsy- but I'm pretty good at improvising. If you aren't, just print out your stencil on card stock and you shouldn't have a problem.


So here it is.
The once ruined portion of the lampshade it right in the front and I think it now looks great!
There is no visible damage, at all!  The burlap is straight  and there is no waffling where the shade was once melted.

Maybe I should rethink selling this after all?

Thanks for checking out my project!
I party HERE-