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Painted thrift store table lamp

Easy Thrift Store Table Lamp Makeover

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Table lamp shopping can be quite the shock if you haven’t had to purchase a new one in a while. Even at the “big box” stores, most decent sized table lamps start at $30-$35. Then you need to buy the shade to go with it. When all is said and done, you’re easily looking at upwards of $50. Maybe this is not a big deal to most people, but for the family on a budget, when you need several lamps to go around a room, it all adds up really quickly.

*This post contains affiliate linksΒ in mochaΒ . If you choose to make a purchase, I receive a small percentage at NO additional cost to you. This helps to pay the fees associated with running my site – and fuels my coffee habit. Thanks for your support.*

Where to Find an Affordable Table Lamp

Thrift stores! Now, granted, most thrift store table lamps need a little updating and some TLC before they become something you’d be happy to display in your home. A new shade (or four, in my case) and a little paint and voila! What was an ugly, dated table lamp is now something you’d be happy to display in your home.

table lamp before her makeover -

I found this table lamp while out thrifting with some girlfriends and I loved the shape. The price tag said only $6.99 and I knew it needed to come home with me. While someone obviously had placed bulbs in it with wattage that was way too high, I knew if proper lightbulbs were installed, there would be no further damage. And those details! All the heart eyes….

Thes details of this lamp were huge selling points for me - keep an eye out for lamps with great lines!

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Table Lamp Update Take 1 –

AKA the Giant Mistake

In typical fashion, I painted the lamp a funky color (hot pink, in this case) – thinking I was going to love it…

The hot pink chalk paint just wasn't working for me...never be afraid to change course halfway through a project if it isn't making you happy!

and then realized I didn’t love it at all. *sigh* I’m a neutral color girl at heart and I just couldn’t do the pink. I tried. I really did! πŸ˜‰

Changing colors halfway through a project is OK!

Apparently I’m a slow learner, because I did the exact same thing (just a different color) with my Drop Cloth covered chair. Perhaps I should just stick to what I know I love.

Table Lamp finds Redemption

Side note – painting an object that has lots of curves, nooks and crannies CAN be done with a regular paint brush or a cheap chip brush, but a round brush works best to easily get into all those small spaces. These brushes look amazing (and they’re on my wishlist for “one of these days”) – but if a brush like this is currently out of your budget, then a big old fat stencil brush works wonders! That’s what I used for this lamp and it was perfect. Another win for “necessity is the mother of invention”! πŸ˜‰

A big old stencil brush works great to get into all the nooks and crannies of a curvy table lamp.

If you read in my side table makeover post, you’ll know that I used a product called Chalk Mix from Diva of DIY – and it worked great. Well, I still had a little chalky paint and powder left over, so I mixed that with some other leftover white chalk-type paint from my Faux Fur Footstool project. Three cheers for using what you have!

It's amazing what a coat of paint can do to transform a table lamp!

If you’ve done any painting at all, you’ll know that red (or bright pink) is a really hard color to cover. Even so, it only took two coats of paint and my lamp was done. And this time, I loved the result.

A light sanding after applying the paint was necessary

As you can see, this chalk mix has quite a bit of texture to it. While I don’t mind some texture (as seen below) I did give my table lamp a light sanding to knock down most of the tiny texture particles. This is totally optional. Here’s a close up to show you what I mean.

The curves of this table lamp are fabulous and the paint covered gorgeously.

I’d love to know…have you used a chalk type mix before? What has been your experience?

An out of date lamp gets a new lease on life with a coat of paint and some new shades. This is budget decorating at it's best!

This lamp is part of a $100 Room Makeover Challenge with some of my blogging BFFs. Stay tuned next week for the big reveal! We are fondly referring to it as our “Champagne Taste on a Kool Aid Budget” Makeover Edition. Anyone can makeover a room with thousands of dollars in their budget…but come back to see what this great group can do with only One Hundred Dollars!

Be sure to Pin for later-

Buying table lamps at thrifts stores is the way to go for inexpensive lighting for your home! A quick coat of paint and you're good to go - saving yourself TONS of money! Definitely a DIY worth doing!

 

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Comments

  1. Susie says

    September 30, 2016 at 8:25 pm

    Oh I totally love the white and black, but must admit that the pink is a great color, too. You have such an eye for matching the right color to a piece. It’s just beautiful. Great job, as always. Susie from Chelsea Project

    • 1915house says

      October 2, 2016 at 12:24 pm

      Thank you, Susie! πŸ™‚

  2. Toni | Small Home Soul says

    September 27, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    Kuddos to you sweet friend for testing out the hot pink paint on your lovely lamp. I love color and I don’t think I could be that daring. What? No, I must be lying because you should see what color my guest bath is, at the moment LOL

    You are so right, lamps can be outrageously expensive. That lamp has some beautiful lines but it looks so much better and updated in white! I can’t wait to see it in your full room, in all it’s glory πŸ™‚

    • 1915house says

      September 29, 2016 at 8:34 am

      Lol! I’m so excited to see you guest bath, Toni! The color you chose is gorgeous! <3 And thanks for the sweet words about my lamp. I'm so glad you liked it! πŸ™‚

  3. Pat Lingner says

    September 26, 2016 at 1:25 pm

    Oh my goodness! What a great makeover! I absolutely adore the finished product! As others mentioned I don’t know that I would have seen the possibility of the original turning out like it did! ???

    • 1915house says

      September 29, 2016 at 8:33 am

      Well thank you, Pat! I’m so happy to hear that you like how it turned out! Thanks for your kind words – they mean a lot to me. πŸ™‚ Have a great day!

  4. Helaine says

    September 25, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    I really like this. To be honest I would not have seen it in the original! πŸ˜‰ nice eye! I do wonder what it would look like if the shades were dipped in gold on the bottom… ?

    • 1915house says

      September 26, 2016 at 5:40 am

      I’m so glad you like it! πŸ˜€

      And Ooooo….I actually really love your idea of the gold-dipped shades!!! Thank you! You may see an update on them soon! Thanks, Helaine! <3

  5. Julie at icanlivewithoutsugar says

    September 24, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    Hi Sarah,
    That looks so cute! I love how you are able to see the potential in items that I’d probably never look twice at.
    A true visionary. Your finished lamp looks gorgeous.

    • 1915house says

      September 26, 2016 at 5:37 am

      Thank you so much, Julie! I’m so glad you like how it turned out. πŸ™‚

  6. DebraShoppeno5 says

    September 24, 2016 at 3:18 pm

    Oh I love this lamp. What details. You made a beautiful choice in choosing the black and white. It’s a classic look.

    • 1915house says

      September 26, 2016 at 5:35 am

      Thank you for your kind words, Debra! I’m so happy you like it! πŸ™‚ Have a great day!

  7. Lisa says

    September 24, 2016 at 11:25 am

    I love how this turned out. Tbe black shades are such a classic look. This looks like a $100 lamp!❀️

    • 1915house says

      September 24, 2016 at 11:32 am

      Yay!! Thank you Lisa! I’m so happy that you like how it turned out! πŸ˜€ <3

Trackbacks

  1. $100 Room Makeover - Home Office - 1915 House says:
    September 30, 2016 at 10:45 am

    […] Lastly, here’s my “desk” – the old formica table that I painted a while ago. The paint is holding up brilliantly! On the left of the table sits my thrift store lamp that I updated. […]

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