I’ve been starring at this
lamp for several years, wishing I could re-purpose it into something a bit more ‘prim’,
as in primitive. It’s a nice lamp as is,
but I just wanted to change it up, without any expense of course.
Then it hit me……remove the
white milk glass shade and clear hurricane, remove the cute antique brass bulb
hardware, paint and distress it, then rob a dark mustard tin punch shade from
another lamp, and maybe just maybe it
would work. Our house is an eclectic and
warm blend of Colonial Antique meets Americana meets Folk meets Art with a slight tinge
of Prim……with modern creature comforts, all depending on my mood. Basically I'd like Thomas Jefferson and Andy Warhol to both feel comfortable in my home, just in case they both stopped in sometime.
Next I had to pitch the
concept to hubs. You might say he’s not
big on change. “What’s wrong with it as
it is? It’s just as nice as the day we bought it back in 1977.” Keep
in mind he wears the same jeans, same shoe, and same plaid design flannel that
he did back in 1977, so that’s his reference. Nothing against LLBean, they are great, but
seriously. If they announced they were
closing, he’d buy 20 years-worth just to be safe. It’s not that I couldn’t have
removed it myself, but I know it gives him great satisfaction to ‘come to my
renovation rescue’ now and then.
So, once I convinced him of
the values of the change, the hardware and wiring was removed. Next I lightly sanded the wood and metal base
so the paint would stick.
Next I added several coats
of Lamp Black acrylic paint, being sure to leave rough edges so it looked ‘old
and distressed’, like me! Be sure it’s
nice and dry and proceed.
Then I added a glaze of red
acrylic in the creases, whipping the excess.
I allowed the red to dry thoroughly.
Next I added a glaze of
mustard over some of the creases, again whipping the excess and allowing them
to dry.
Happy with the glazing,
finally I sprayed two coats clear matte protective finish on the entire base,
letting it dry in between coats.
Hardware and wiring was added, a bulb was added and I popped on the shade. Voila!
A soft slightly prim light to enjoy!
Gotta run, I hear a knock at the door. I think it may be Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Warhol!
