Let there be light…

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My husband and I were out running errands as we drove by Goodwill. I begged like a child to please, please, please stop and go in. John is a good sport but he has his limitations. I was peppered with questions in rapid fire succession-

Do we have to go today?               YES!

What are you looking for?            I’ll know it when I see it.

How long will this take?               Oh, not long 🙂

He relented – I told you he was a good sport.  As I entered the store I made a mental note that the blue ticket color tags would be 50% off and I raced towards the back. Admittedly there wasn’t a lot to choose from on this particular day. I saw a hideous brass lamp with a jade colored base.  I wasn’t even looking for a lamp but I found myself drawn towards it.  First of all it is very heavy – the real deal as far as brass goes.  The lamp worked and it is three-way lighting.  It had a new shade, which was too small. The lamp was priced $7.07 and…it had a blue tag. SOLD at $3.54.

Fast forward a few days…I was in line at TJ Maxx checking out.  Another woman was in the return line bringing back large, khaki colored drum shades.  My ears perked up like a good hunting dog. I was hearing things like – “ma’am you’ve had these shades for over eight months” and ” I can only give you store credit”.  The customer took her credit and went on her merry way.  I immediately got out of my line and went to the return line. I smiled sweetly as I said “if those lampshades were stocked items, wouldn’t they be on clearance”?  The very nice cashier checked for me and stated “this is your lucky day – the shades are now $6.00 a piece”. SOLD  Even at the original price of $16.99 a great value for a 15 inch drum shade.

Now I needed a second lamp.  I went to Atlanta Union Mission thrift store Thursday.  They were having a 50% off lamp special.  I found a solid brass lamp that I thought would compliment the other lamp.  This lamp is also very heavy.  I purchased this lamp for $7.50

I didn’t even know what I was going to do with the lamps.  I knew they had promising potential and they could be transformed. I started doing web research on how to paint brass.  Almost all of the sites recommended two coats of primer, two coats of paint and one coat of gloss.  Humph! I don’t have that kind of patience, especially on a project that I wasn’t sure was going to work out.  This is what I did instead:

• I bought Rustoleum Universal 2 in 1…primer and paint in gloss white
• Using plastic grocery bags and painters tape I protected the lamp harp and bulb area.  I did the same for the electric cord.
• I laid out an old sheet in the driveway and placed both brass lamps on top.
• I started to spray paint being sure to use slow left to right motion, being sure not to stay on one spot too long.
• I let this first coat dry for 30 minutes.
• I sprayed on the second coat.
• I waited one hour and the lamps were dry enough to bring into the house.  The paint wasn’t totally dry for another hour or so.

With one coat complete, I felt pretty good about the paint coverage.

 This is the paint I used.  I was very satisfied with the coverage and smooth finish.  One full can painted both lamps.

You can see how perfectly glossy it is too.

I am super happy with the end result.  As much as I love the lamps they will have a new home in a clients house.  I wanted to see how they would look so, I did a quick staging.  The finials were leftover from an art project – metal acorns.

From Brassy to Classy:

 

This lamp makeover was probably the easiest and quickest project I have ever done.  Not including drying time, this project took literally ten minutes…no kidding.  It only took two minutes to tape off the lamps.  Each spray session was only a few minutes.  Maximum result for little effort – my kind of project.   I won’t hesitate to purchase more lamps in the future.  Here’s the cost break down:

• Lamps (2)                    $11.04
• Shades (2)                     12.00
• Paint                                 3.85
• Finials                             free
• Total                           $26.89

Not bad for two lamps!  Have you ever made-over a lamp?