Thrift Store Lamp Revamp

This thrift store lamp revamp is not only easy, it’s super inexpensive, too!Lamp revamp main picHappy Monday! If you cringed at that statement, I hope you have your coffee in hand. 🙂 If you follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you probably saw my little “tease” shot of the before lamp. If you didn’t see it, then hurry and go follow me so you don’t miss another project teaser! I’m slowly redoing my gallery/entry wall area, and I needed a new lamp for the table. I bought this thrift store lamp base for $4.99, and the plain white lampshade for $2.50. A steal! The lamp base was an ugly brownish marbled gold/brass color. It definitely needed an update! Lamp beforeI wanted the lamp to be simple, yet still stand out. So, I opted for a silver and white base. I spray painted the whole base silver first, and after it dried, I taped off the silver parts above and below the middle section and spray painted that white. I wasn’t sure I was going to like how it turned out and was fully prepared to repaint the whole thing silver again, but I really like the white section! lamp baseIf you know me,  you know that I can be indecisive about things. And if you’re my husband, you know I can get bored quickly with decor items. So, I wanted something fun for the shade rather than just a plain solid color, and something I could easily change. I decided I’d try a chalkboard shade, so I could easily match the design with different seasons. That way, I wasn’t “stuck” with a plain solid shade.

I didn’t know how it’d turn out, but I tried Krylon’s chalkboard paint and it worked surprisingly well! I gave it a couple coats, primed it by rubbing a piece of chalk all over it on its side once it was dry, and wiped it off with a damp towel. I then added a fun design for some flair. I LOVE how it came together!

lamp shade

Now, if I get bored of decide I want to change the shade, I can easily wipe it off and do something else, without having to buy a new one or repaint.

The only small negative with using the chalkboard spray paint is it leaves little black fabric specks all over the shade. It got better after I primed it with chalk, but it really doesn’t bother me too much. It gives it some more texture! And I’m really not going to be changing the design on the shade that often. If you were, I’d go with a chalkboard paint that you can brush on.

I love looking at the transformation. Here’s the before again:

lamp before 2Bleh! And after:

Lamp afterSo. Much. Better. It’s so easy to find something old/used and give it new life. It makes me feel more invested in my belongings when I can personalize them, rather than always buying something new. And, the best part is – It’s CHEAPER! Yes, please.

So, run out to your nearest thrift shop today, find an ugly lamp (or any item!) and revamp! I promise it’s so much fun.

Have you revamped any thrift store items lately?

Linked at: Create Link Inspire, Busy Monday, Motivational Monday, Teach me Tuesdays, One Project at a Time,  The Makers, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Hump Day Happenings, The Inspiration Exchange, Creative Spark Link Party, Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop,  Inspire Me Wednesday, Wake Up Wednesday Linky, Creative Exchange Link Party, Thursday Style Link Party, Fabulously Frugal Thursday Linky Party, Thank Goodness it’s Thursday, Inspire Me Please, Friday Favorites, Link Party Palooza, Weekend Wind Down, My favorite Things, Say G’Day Saturday, Share it Sunday,

<a href=”http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12635651/?claim=bccv4h4np5u”>Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

56 thoughts on “Thrift Store Lamp Revamp”

    1. Thanks, Sarah! I thought it’d be a fun change than the normal plain shade! Have a great Tuesday. 🙂

      Reply

    1. Thank you, Sarah! I thought it’d be fun to try something totally different! And a bonus, it worked! 🙂 Have a great week!

      Reply

  10. Girl, I LOVE this chalkboard shade! I have a two goodwill lamps I am making over and I was having trouble deciding what to do with the shades – this is it! I love chalkboard and we have some black in that room so I think this will be great! I pinned to a big group board on pinterest so hopefully its getting you lots of traffic. Keep up the good work!
    Shelly recently posted…Wake Up Wednesday Linky #28My Profile

    Reply

    1. Ahh yay Shelly! You should totally do a chalkboard shade on at least one!! You can even try to change the color of the chalkboard paint. I’ve seen recipes to make your own, any color. My gallery wall it sits against is done in black and white, so I wanted to keep it somewhat similar, otherwise I would have tried a colored paint, too. You’ll have to send me a picture if you end up doing it! Thanks for the pinning, too! You’re so sweet! 🙂

      Reply

    1. Thanks, Brita! Ha, I will have to do that! Hopefully it won’t be too soon, the design I have on there now took forever for some reason! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

    1. Aw, thank you Breanna! So glad you came by to visit!! I love finding other bloggers who love to repurpose thrift store finds. 🙂 Happy Wednesday!

      Reply

  14. I am so in love with your lamp, awesome save. It never fails to amaze me what people can do with cast offs at thrift stores. Such great stuff and saving money, win, win. The lamp shade is terrific. I can imagine that took while to make sure rows were straight. Hope you’ll share when you do change. it.
    I spray painted a cloth lamp shade from Goodwill after we painted our living room. It’s a little fuzzy but gives shade some texture. Also bought a lamp at Goodwill that had been there for few weeks, finally bought it on 1/2 off day.
    Pretty much everything in living room got painted or changed in some way.
    Only waited 8 yrs. to finally paint the room. Couldn’t decide what color or style til I came upon some curtain panels at TJMaxx on clearance. They are light gray with white damask design all over them. So I bought light gray paint and it began. Made all new art, did a gallery wall for first time in this house. Just had one heck of a good time once I finally got started. Covered a Habitat chair with 4 different but faded vintage table cloths, bought a “new to us” couch I love. What a difference in the room, so light bright and cozy cottage/little bit beachy. The beachy part will go away in the fall to be replaced with ? who knows what now. The cottage part will stay. Also used couple tablecloths on couch to help keep it clean. Now I’m much happier with our home. Getting ready to paint the kitchen and mudroom next. This isn’t our dream home, can’t afford that, but it’s what we could afford where we live.
    We do live out in country and have an amazing view all around us on our 1/2 acre. We have a single wide mfg. home 16×80 we try to make as homey as we can. We have best dog there is, an older cat that adopted us in KY and 5 chickens now. keep us two old folks out of trouble. Happy life Amanda, enjoyed your post and blog.

    Reply

    1. JaneEllen, thank you so much for visiting!! And thanks so much for your comments! Yes, thrift store repurposing is so fun, and saves a lot of money! Your home sounds so wonderful! Isn’t it great to add some personal touches to our rooms, and make it more cozy? What color are you going to paint your kitchen? I understand about the dream home! Our home is very small and definitely not our dream home, but you make do with what you have, right? Wherever we live, it is our HOME and that matter is who we are sharing it with! Pets make a home better, too! We have two kitties. 🙂 So glad you enjoyed this post, hope you come back and visit again soon! 🙂

      Reply

  15. This is fantastic, Amanda! You totally gave that ho-hum lamp an exciting look. I love the silver/white base too – I think it adds a splash you wouldn’t have had with just silver. I’m inspired! 🙂
    Thank you for sharing at Wake Up Wednesday!
    I’m sharing your post on my FB page this morning.
    Karen recently posted…Knowing What’s Growing: Sweet BasilMy Profile

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much Karen!! So glad I could inspire you. 🙂 Yes, I’m so happy with how the white and silver turned out! Thanks for sharing, and for visiting! 🙂

      Reply

  17. Thanks for linking to Create Link Inspire at The Crafty Blog Stalker. You have been featured and pinned! Thank you for sharing.
    –Katie, TheCraftyBlogStalker.com

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Kalani! Yes, chalkboard is so perfect for the indecisive! Thanks for stopping by, happy Saturday! 🙂

      Reply

    1. Thank you, Antionette! Lamps are a lot of fun to make over, the possibilities are endless! Thanks for visiting! 🙂

      Reply
  22. Pingback: Chalkboard Party Ideas | Dwelling In Happiness

    1. Thank you, Megan! Yay, a fellow spray painter! 🙂 You’ve totally got to try the spray chalkboard paint. You’ll seriously go crazy chalking everything! 🙂 Thanks for visiting!

      Reply

    1. Thank you, Michelle! It does erase pretty well, if I use a wet rag and rub it off. But, we’ll see in a couple months when I try and change it! I’ll link up right now, thanks for visiting! 🙂

      Reply
  26. Pingback: Fabulously Frugal Thursday Linky Party #80

    1. Thank you SO much for the feature, Emily!! I’ll definitely grab a button, and will be linking up today for sure!! Have a great day 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge