Brass Lamp Re-Vamp!!

One of the great things about living in Chicago is that there are NO ceiling lights. Absolutely ZERO. Well... we came here from Idaho, where there are LOTS of ceiling lights.. so I had ZERO floor lamps, and let's face it, all the ones I wanted - WAY too much money. (Probably not for your average person, but for my family as we go through dental school, re-do and re-use are our mottos). 

Take this adorable floor lamp ----

That beauty is from Target - it's the Kenroy Home White Gloss Finish Clairborne Floor Lamp...
whew.. that's a mouthful - and so is the price - a whopping $142.20!! WAY out of my dental school budget, which is why I had to get creative to get the look that I wanted.

Meet ugly brass floor lamp ----

 

This beauty is from Goodwill - and only $8.00!! Besides the nasty lamp shade (which I think was supposed to be white at one point) and the ugly brass work (bleh) it was pretty much perfect. It matched the general shape of what I was looking for and it WORKED!! Plus, for only $8.00 - I think it'll do.

To make it prettier.. you only need a couple things...

One (or two) cans of your choice in Spray Paint - I ALWAYS use Rust-Oleum and LOVE it!! It covers so great! I used Heirloom White in a Satin finish (I've used this color multiple times in my home and I love it).

You also need painters tape - to cover the pieces you don't want painted.

Give that baby a light sanding with some 100 or so grit sandpaper - and then spray away. Make sure to keep your spray paint moving constantly and about 10 inches or so away. Wait for the first coat to dry - you may notice a little roughness to it --

Sand it down again - be sure that the paint is dry - and then spray on another coat. After the second coat is dry - another LIGHT sanding and then Viola! Done painting!

Rip off that painters tape, replace the ugly lamp shade with a nice shiny new one, and enjoy!!!

Ahh... she looks so much nicer! Perfect, cheap easy way to update a floor lamp!!