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You are here: Home / Our houses / The Victorian / Refinished thrift store lamps

Refinished thrift store lamps

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The Victorian

Back to life-size decor for the day around here.

So to answer your question: yes, you can spray paint lamps.

Several months ago, I picked up two mismatched table lamps for our living room.  I really liked the shapes of the bases.  Well, I mostly liked the prices, but the shapes were very nice as well.

It’s amazing how much different old lamps can look with a little makeover.  Here is what I did to refinish mine (get ready for some sub-par photos—I just get to excited to do the projects that forget to plan the photos well):

How to refinish dated lamps (Little Victorian)

The one on the left is all metal and the one on the right is a combination of metal, wood and glass.

I gave them a good cleaning and sanded them with some fine sandpaper.  Then primed them.

How to spray paint lamps (Little Victorian)

And then put them on display in the living room for several months, because I couldn’t decide what color to paint them.

Last week, I finally finished them up with a can of gold (Metallic Caramel Latte by Krylon, my favorite cool, light gold—it’s the same one I used for spray painting my cork board).

And they are topped off with new shades from Target.  I can’t remember how much I paid for them, but I’m sure they were either on sale or I had a coupon.  Or both.  The total for the two “new” lamps was under $30.

spray paint lamps from thrift store (Little Victorian)

And as usual, the one that was less attractive in the beginning ended up being my favorite.

spray painting lamps from goodwill (Little Victorian)

So, if you have any dated lamps that you aren’t crazy about anymore, try spray painting them.  You might end up liking them more than the brand new, expensive ones you’ve been wanting.

PS: I’ll be back Wednesday with a full page of resources, inexpensive products that I recommend and lots of DIY tutorials for the dollhouse contest.

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  1. Q

    November 20, 2012 at 4:07 am

    they look great and at least you remembered to take photos! Generally I forget, then I feel bad because I always want to go into detail about how I did things, I like reading about the process on other peoples’ blogs.

    PS the photos look pretty good anyway

    Reply
    • Ginger Lola

      November 20, 2012 at 12:45 pm

      I’m the same way too, keep forgetting to take pics while I craft, it takes time to put down your craft and clean your hands to take a picture, but I always regret not taking more when I post. I also like reading the process.

    • Christina O

      November 20, 2012 at 8:35 pm

      Thanks Q! 🙂

  2. Ginger Lola

    November 20, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    Beautiful, they look so modern.

    Reply
    • Christina O

      November 20, 2012 at 8:42 pm

      Thanks Ginger. That’s nice to hear when they started out so dated. 🙂

  3. Cher

    November 20, 2012 at 4:16 pm

    So I have a pretty unattractive floor lamp (all brass) with a very ugly shade. I love the lamp because it has a three way bulb and it’s pretty tall. I can spray that and get a new shade? I was going to give it away! It is perfectly good other that the way it looks so dated. I will try your method and send you some pictures! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Christina O

      November 20, 2012 at 8:42 pm

      You sure can. I think you might know someone who could help you through the process too!

      For your floor lamp I’d recommend Krylon’s metallic oil rubbed bronze.

      You should definitely send some pics when you’re done, I’d love to feature them.

  4. onshore

    November 20, 2012 at 8:54 pm

    Really nice! I should give another go with the spray painting, I had such an awful results when I painted the night stands that I’ve been avoiding the spray painting for a while (and I have one job waiting).

    Reply
    • Christina O

      November 20, 2012 at 11:37 pm

      Oh that’s right. I love spray paint, but only for small, textured and/or shapely projects like these.

      Your night stands turned out so well once you used the liquid paint on them. 🙂

  5. Anna Williams

    November 27, 2012 at 11:22 pm

    I love spraypainting lamps! These look gorgeous 🙂 xx

    Reply
  6. Mini Dork

    December 2, 2012 at 5:40 am

    These turned out fantastic. I love the lamp shades too. Very posh for very little cash. Hats off!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Simple way to hide paper shredder | Little Victorian says:
    November 12, 2013 at 6:40 am

    […] Of course, I was hoping for rattan or seagrass or anything prettier than wicker, but I can’t always have everything.  Besides, it was only $6.  Immediately upon getting home, I spray painted it my favorite cool gold (the same as the lamps). […]

    Reply
  2. 6 easy ways to update a dated room says:
    December 20, 2013 at 8:21 am

    […] of replacing lamps, they can often just be updated.  I recently learned (by trying it) that dated glass lamps can indeed be spray painted.  They look classic and current at the same time, which is the whole goal.  Replacing older […]

    Reply

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Finished! (ish) let's just pretend the new mantle Finished! (ish) let's just pretend the new mantle is painted a warm gray. It will be soon. 
It was $94 for the whole thing. 
Swipe for the before. See everything at littlevictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
So we were making great (though last- minute) prog So we were making great (though last- minute) progress. Then we're putting the picture hanger on the DIY art I made for the room when the 80-pound dog comes in and steps STRAIGHT THROUGH THE ARTWORK. 😵 

Hubs is trying to fix it as usual. But seriously...I don't know if any more obstacles could be thrown at us during this challenge. 😂 

3 hours to go. 
#100roomchallenge
Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challen Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challenge on our dining room (that you guys haven't even seen the "before" of yet). It's a super fun challenge to stay within $100 and makeover a room in a month. We're behind schedule, but there has actually been progress. I'll try to remember to share here, but there's more on the blog! LittleVictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventua Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventually finish most of our restoration/renovation projects. I'll share the updates in the coming months as we get settled in to our new place. 😁
House update! The realtor is still confused about House update! The realtor is still confused about why "it's such a popular house." When she arrived yesterday for a showing, there were 8 cars in the driveway. 😃

We had three offers the first day, one of whom hadn't even seen the house in person yet.
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The bedroom design is starting to come together th The bedroom design is starting to come together thanks to Craigslist and Goodwill. 
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@little.victorian

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