Scavenger Chic

Thrift Store Lamp Makeover

• By Joan
• October 28, 2020
• 4 Comments

Thrift Store Lamp Makeover

At least once a month I’ll head over to the local thrift store to see if anything catches my eye.  Sometimes even more frequently if I have a project in mind.  But rarely do I find that one thing I came in for.

I’m pretty sure lighting was not on my shopping list when I spied this set of two pyramid style lamps.  They were wood,  they were in good shape and at $8 for the pair, I had to take them home.

I loved the shape of the lamps but the hand painted topiary did nothing for me.  They didn’t match anything I own.  And while most of the paint was flat, the tree had little paint glob leaves and flowers.  In order for my paint to go on smoothly, all those gobs had to be sanded down.  Super easy with an electric sander.

If you like the shape and the height of your lamp you can skip right on by the next few steps and start to paint.

These lamps did not come with lampshades so I had to go on a hunt.  It was easiest just to carry my lamp with me so I could try the lampshades on for size.  It was a good thing too, because most of the shades I thought would fit perfectly looked very odd on this pyramid shaped lamp.

This is the shade I finally decided on.  It had a great shape but it covered too much of the base.  I would have to make my lamp taller so it would hit the base at the right spot.  And that is the reason that you see wires coming out of my lamp.  I’m taking apart the old socket in order to make the lamp taller.

I had a couple spindle parts,  which could have been a good option, but I eventually decided on these  chopped in half deck finials to bring my lamp up to the perfect height to go with those shades.

I’ve used deck finials on other projects like here and here but I think these were leftovers from my bedraggled trunk coffee table.

I drilled a 3/8″ hole thru the finial and inserted it onto the nipple that was already included with the lamp.

The lamp is painted with Waverly Ocean Chalk paint.

I used Gorilla clear glue to attach the finial to the base of the lamp.  FYI, the Gorilla glue is similar to E6000 adhesive.

After the first coat of chalk paint and the glue was dry, I gave the lamps a second coat of the blue, this time mixing it with just a little black chalk paint on edges and crevices.

The chalk paint was finished with a final coat of antique wax, painted on then wiping off the excess.

If you didn’t take your lamp apart, you’re finished.  If you did dismantle your lamp, it is time for rewiring.  I’m going to refer you back to a post I did several years ago on wiring a lamp.  Don’t worry, it has tons of pictures.  You can find it here.

The lamp makeover is almost complete. 

Before I put everything back together I like to test out the connections to make sure everything is in working order  (Important…don’t touch any of your wires before unplugging again).

Cute lamp which will go with just about any decor.

That little topiary tree is long gone, but I did keep the cute little gold feet.

It’s time to go shopping at your local thrift store.  You never know what you’ll bring home.  Stay safe and stay inspired.

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