I had a $10 Walmart crappy flimsy floor lamp. I hated it. My husband needed the light. I needed to make it prettier.
So, I took this lamp:
This tube that came from a bolt of fabric that I bought:
And this table runner:
And made this:
The metal pole was so skinny, and I was adding a lot of "beef" to the top of the lamp, so I need to bulk up the bottom. I spray painted the fabric bolt and the base of the lamp so it would all match.
The fabric was a little too short, so I added a little bit of a paper towl roll, and used painters tape to hold them together:
Classy, I know. Hey, it could have been a toilet paper roll!
I had a drum shade from a lamp that has been in a closet, so I stole it, stripped it and used it to make the shape of the lamp shade
I just cut the table runner down, and then glued the two ends together after wrapping it around the naked shade.
Total cost to me: FREE
Total cost if I didn't have all this stuff laying around: $14
Lamp $10
Table runner $4 (from Ross)
Before:
After
I'm linking this up to:
It's so Very Cheri
The Shades of Pink
Thrifty Decor Chick, Before and after party
Wow! What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteWow that looks great! I would have never thought to do that.
ReplyDeleteok THIS is a great project! Your "new" lamp looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteVery creative, came out beautiful!
ReplyDeleteMichelle
This is a great make-over. That lamp is stunning now. from plain to fabulous! I love it! Very creative project.
ReplyDeletethat turned out great, what a cool idea
ReplyDeleteLove this! How clever!
ReplyDeleteTotally ingenious. Looks fantastic.
ReplyDeleteLove this!!!! Clever
ReplyDeleteI've thrown many of these away. I think I have one that I might try this on for my son's apartment. Do you think I could use pvc pipe? How did you attached theshade to the fixture?
Wldgrneyes:
ReplyDeleteI think I PVC pipe would work GREAT! Way better than what I did! While spray paint covers a multitude of yuck, it doesn't magically make cardboard appear metal :-)
You could actually just clip the "shade" onto the existing shade, but we didn't have anything to clip with. We were going to use a staple gun, but we didn't have one around the house (the plastic shade that's already on the lamp is thin enough you could staple gun through it). There are alot of things you could do to connect the table runner to the existing shade, you're not limited to having another drum shade around (that's just we had that would work)
PVC would be fantastic! I hope you send me a pic if you do this.
Wow, ok...I HAVE THAT LAMP TOO! Right now, it's hanging out in the garage with my husband's junk. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of those "up lamps" that I despise... great idea!
ReplyDeleteI love it!!and now I wish I'd kept the tube from the fabric I bought :(
ReplyDeleteYour lamp looks great! I have an ugly floor lamp in my garage. I may have to copy this! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea...looks outstanding!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Linda
I have a lamp just like that...hate it...but need it...what a great idea...thanks for sharing! And I LOVE your candle chandelier...turned out so great!
ReplyDeleteGirl, that is the cutest idea! I hate those $10 lamps from Wal-Mart. You turned it into a beauty!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Suzanne :)
Love the lamp, Stef! I'm on a lamp and shade kick this month! My next project is two I found in the basement that need painting and shades.
ReplyDeleteI finally posted about that wall art {this morning}! I did it over the Summer, but I'm just now ready to hang them. I linked to you.
Your "new" lamp looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteWork from home India
I love this idea! I've been looking for ways to redo a lamp base for a while now, and this is the first I've seen. Very creative!
ReplyDeleteNow that's just clever! Love the way you you "beefed up" the base.
ReplyDeleteI have the same lamps and I agree! Thanks for the idea and tutorial. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteI have the same crappy lamp and my husband needs the light too :) And we BOTH hate the lamp (and he is NOT one to care about decorating or how things look.) I'd love to beef it up and make it prettier at the same time. Genius!
ReplyDeleteNice job! It looks great. Come chek out my new blog, www.bloggermum.blogspot.com. I had a pretty ugly lamp and transformed it as well.
ReplyDeleteI have put off buying that cheap lamp because even though I love the cheap price I don't like the look of it so I wil be using this idea.
ReplyDeleteOh I love that you "stole" the lamp shade lol
Great idea!!! I am filed it at thecraftersfilebox.com. You have save me from an "ugly lamp" moment!! Thanks!
ReplyDelete