Two Lamps and One Lamp Shade

A while ago I found this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G lamp at a thrift store. I loved it immediately, despite its nasty lamp shade. It was huge and white and had this weave design so that one could see through its design to the other side. So even though it was big, it seemed light and airy. It was totally old, but it was so old and well done that its style was back “in” at the moment. It just needed a drum lamp shade – something modern to make it look fresh again. So I bought it – for $25. Now, at a thrift store, I thought that was a bit pricey. But, like I said it was huge. For a new lamp, any lamp, of that same size you are looking at a price tag of at least $100. So it was still a deal. Plus I really, really, really LIKED this lamp. So I bought it.

As soon as I got home, I threw away the dusty, disgusting lamp shade that it had come with and immediately set out looking for a new one. I checked thrift stores, Good Will, Home Depot and Lowes, and finally I broke down and went to an actual lighting stores. Oy, that was a shock to the bank account just walking in the store! But they, at least, had the drum lamp shades I wanted. But a lot of them weren’t big enough or the right color for the room I wanted to put the lamp in. The cheapest, plainest looking one was $45 – gawd!

Dejected, I went home empty handed and started searching online for inspiration. I found a site that showed you how to make your own lamp shade. But there was still a cost for the materials, this time about 50 bucks. Sheesh! I liked the idea of customizing my own lamp shade though. So I started searching for ideas for that. And then I went to Ikea. They didn’t have drum lamp shades but they had a large, plain white lamp shade that I could customize for about $20. Sold!

I quickly set about working on the lamp shade. I have these blue and white vases and plates and pots in the living room. I wanted my lamp shade to match them. So I pulled a similar pattern off the internet, grabbed a sharp pencil to trace the pattern, and then filled it in with a blue sharpie.

No painting required. Just permanent blue ink. I did have an issue with bleeding, but it was manageable once I had a technique down.

And then, on another trip to the thrift store, I found another big, ugly lamp that was even more perfect for the living room! And this lamp was only $5!! Yep, so I got that one too. This lamp was a hideous brown/green – like baby poo. It had tarnished “gold” trim paint. And it’s lamp shade was so disgusting I didn’t even want to put it in the car. But it was only 5 dollars! I took it home, cleaned it, threw away the lamp shade, and painted the base a solid blue.

The pattern on it worked super well with the repeated patterns on my vases and plates. I put my $20 dollar lamp shade on my $5 lamp and it looked awesome!

I like it – and that’s all that matters, right?

Oh, and the original lamp I got for 25 bucks? I’m still looking for a lamp shade for that one…