DIY Lamp Makeover

* This post was originally published as a Guest Post on Create.Craft.Love on 17.08.2015

Happy Monday Friends!

Too much enthusiasm for a Monday? Probably! But I can’t help it. I’m very excited to be showing you this pretty DIY today. |

Now that the weather has cooled down and summer is long gone I’m dreaming up all the projects I want to conquer for the Autumn and Winter Months. So much DIY fun to be had. My mum recently flew over to visit for three months (yay for the extra pair pf helping hands) and then following her departure my parents-in-law will be coming over for Christmas so I have plans for our guest bedroom to look somewhat guest worthy as opposed to just a bed in the middle of a room. I want the bedroom to feel warm and inviting for my family. I want them to feel comfortable and cozy. I’ve used the beautiful colours of Autumn as my inspiration for this room. I love all the beautiful golden yellows, reds, earthy tones, browns and oranges. These are not usually my go-to colours but for some reason I feel very drawn to them right now, so I’m just going with it.

My first couple of projects for the guest bedroom are this DIY Lamp Makeover and also this Ikea Frosta Stool Rustic Makeover.

Got to say I’m pretty happy with the look of the new bedside lamps. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, some (aka my husband) may call it “grandma style” but that’s ok since both the kids grandma’s are staying with us over the next few months. At least they will love t right? 😉 haha.

A few months back, at the end of last winter I came across this pretty bird material at a local curtain store. I walk past there every day with my boys and this particular day I spotted this pretty print from afar and had to snap it up. I didn’t know at the time what I wanted to use it for but I knew I would eventually use it for something.

When I started planning out the guest bedroom I instantly thought this beautiful fabric would be the perfect design for my lamp makeover! I was right! I LOVE how it turned out and how instant the change has been to an otherwise boring and bare room.

I love the golden mustard colour which reminds me of the beautiful golden leaves of Autumn. It really is as pretty as a picture and I’m so glad I jumped on this piece of material. I was very lucky I managed to cover two lamp shades with this material and the best thing about it all? It cost me $5.00!! I know right?!?!

I did in fact purchase the lamp shades and stands new but I purchased them from a little store close to my home that sells affordable homewares. The set cost me $30 but they certainly needed more character added to them as the stands where plain white and a boring grey for the shades.

Pretty happy with this $35 project. Pretty cheap if you ask me.

Here’s what you’ll need to recreate this DIY Lamp Makeover:

Materials
1. Lamp stands
2. Lamp shades
3. Gold spray paint
4. Fabric of choice – because your shades may be a completely different size and shape to mine I have not included measurements but I suggest you purchase the lamp shades first then measure out how much material you will need. I just got very lucky that the material I found was enough for the shades I decided to buy.
5. Hot glue gun & hot glue sticks
6. Scissors (for material and paper)
7. Pencil
8. Painters tape
9. Newspaper

Here’s how to makeover your lamp!

1. Start by covering all the areas you dont’ want spray painted on the stands with painters tape. I covered the top where the light bulb goes and also the cords.

2. Start spray painting over the stands. Firstly shake your can well for a couple of minutes then hold the can about 20-30cm away from the stand to give it an even coat of paint. This also avoids spaying too heavily and risking creating paint drips. I did two coats on each stand and one final “touch up” coat for any little areas I felt needed a little extra coverage.

Allow paint to dry.

3. Grab a sheet of newspaper. Wrap it around your lamp shade and trace over the top and bottom edges. Once complete unroll paper and you will have your pattern ready to cut and transfer over to your material.

4. Copy the shape of the lamp shade by placing your pre-cut newspaper pattern onto the back of the material.

5. Cut your material following the lines you have just drawn. You cuts should look something like the image below but it all depends on the shape and size of the shades you choose.

6. Once you have your pieces of fabric cut and ready to go then just add hot glue to the line which joins the existing lamp shade (see image below) and press down on your fabric. Hold for a few seconds or until glue has set.

7. Pull material tight all the way around the shade and once you are happy with how it has aligned, hot glue another line and stick down the over lapping material.

8. Sit your lamp shade upright and fold over the material onto the inside of the lamp shade. Check if there is too much material and cut accordingly. Once you are happy with it all, cut small incisions into the material where the metal wires join the frame.

9. Hot glue the inside of your shade and fold material over tightly. Hold for a few seconds or until securely glued and set.

10. Voila! You’re all done. Repeat on shade number two and you have two updated and pretty lamp shades!

I love rustic, vintage/chic and country style decor. I want the guest bedroom to have a rustic feel to it yet still keeping it fairly modern so I also made over two IKEA FROSTA STOOLS to use as little side tables while I search for the “perfect” bedside tables for the guest room. Find the tutorial right HERE.

I also created this Blue & Gold Watercolour Art Print to add some pretty blue tones to the entire look. You can DOWNLOAD your FREE copy right here!

I hope you enjoyed today’s tutorial and it inspires you to give your lamps new life by applying these simple steps!

You can also check out some other DIY’s you may enjoy by clicking on the images below!

Have you made over a lamp in your home? What DIY projects have you delved into lately?

I love seeing your projects. Share them with me on my Facebook Page or in the comments below 🙂

xx

*Linking up with Remodelaholic