Last summer, we "inherited" this lovely lamp from an older lady from our church. I think it is from the 1920s, judging from the wiring and the way it exploded a while ago when I was moving it. I was a little leery of bringing the lamp back from "lamp hell" (where all exploding lamps surely go). But, Josh was confident that he could rewire it and make it safe again.
So, while he worked his rewiring magic I decided to work a little magic of my own!
We took the lamp apart and found that it was just a series of pieces strung onto a metal tube. The glass pieces were all completely solid, this lamp was really an incredible piece of workmanship!
I took the metal pieces (the inner tube, decorative elements, shade-holder and finial) and gave them a good scrub with some steel wool to get the flakey, metallic paint off. Then, I coated them with Heirloom White, using a cereal box to hold some of the smaller pieces in place.
One thing I learned? It's really a good idea to wait until spray paint has dried completely. Otherwise, it may chip off easily. I can't help it, I'm just too excited to get things done sometimes!
Voila. The cost of this makeover? $1.97. That was the cost of the new cord (just a white extension cord from Home Depot).
I was almost ready to throw this old lamp out- but I'm so glad we fixed it instead! I really had no idea it was so easy to rewire a lamp. Maybe I will have Josh help me make a tutorial... electrical things kinda freak me out but this was so simple I think even I could manage it!
So, while he worked his rewiring magic I decided to work a little magic of my own!
We took the lamp apart and found that it was just a series of pieces strung onto a metal tube. The glass pieces were all completely solid, this lamp was really an incredible piece of workmanship!
I took the metal pieces (the inner tube, decorative elements, shade-holder and finial) and gave them a good scrub with some steel wool to get the flakey, metallic paint off. Then, I coated them with Heirloom White, using a cereal box to hold some of the smaller pieces in place.
One thing I learned? It's really a good idea to wait until spray paint has dried completely. Otherwise, it may chip off easily. I can't help it, I'm just too excited to get things done sometimes!
Voila. The cost of this makeover? $1.97. That was the cost of the new cord (just a white extension cord from Home Depot).
I was almost ready to throw this old lamp out- but I'm so glad we fixed it instead! I really had no idea it was so easy to rewire a lamp. Maybe I will have Josh help me make a tutorial... electrical things kinda freak me out but this was so simple I think even I could manage it!
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ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks Sarah! That totally made me giggle, I had a great mental picture. That poor old lady! =)
ReplyDeleteWow, turned out great.
ReplyDeleteTeresa