What We're Making: The Realities of a Lamp Revamp

Over the last few years, I've developed a sort of addiction to DIY and home decor blogs. And HGTV... And magazine articles about home stuff... And fire sale sites like Joss & Main and One Kings Lane...

Addict that I am, it was no surprise that I found myself wanting to try out some of my decorating DIY skills when we got the new house. And after a visit to Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Pasadena, I found a worthy candidate to be my guinea pig. She was only $10 and I thought her cute pineappley middle would look quirky and fun in one of our bedrooms.

I bought her back in September, long before we painted the bathroom tile around the Santa Ynez guest bath shower. So, folks, this was the first time in my life I had ever used spray paint. Crazy, right? 

I am officially a fan. In fact, I've since sprayed the $35 IKEA bed frame I bought on Craigslist (you can see the edge of it in the very top picture of this post), along with the mirror frame above, and a few knickknacks. And I'm not planning to stop there. I find myself continually spying new things I could aim a nozzle at. 

My big lamp plans became a bit foiled when I purchased a lampshade at Home Goods, and it got squished by the bed frame in the back of my Prius. Yes, I put an entire bed frame in my tiny hatchback. And yes, it was totally the previous owner's fault it smooshed my lampshade because he wasn't exactly gentle when he loaded the frame into the car. You get what you pay for, I guess...

Very sad little crinkled lampshade... Thankfully, the crinkles were fairly well hidden by the fabric I glued around the drum.

Now, I've seen lamp redos on sites like my beloved Young House Love, and I think even on Pinterest. And they always look so easy. Like all you need is a glue gun and a good attitude and you'll end up with a professional-looking end product.

Mine may look okay from a distance, but the interior seams are totally uneven and frankly a little ghetto. If lampshades can be ghetto. 

And lookie there, you can see one of the dimples in the shade up on the left. Argh. 

The other funny thing about this whole endeavor—between the lamp itself, the shade, the paint and the fabric, I think this ended up costing me about $36. So really, I probably could have just purchased a brand new lamp that had a perfectly covered shade. 

Live and learn, lamp DIYers, live and learn.