Learn how I gave this thrift store lamp a makeover. I found two lime green lamps at Goodwill and decided to give them new life! Not only did I spray paint them, I also decided to hand paint them to make them extra unique. In this post you will see how I completely revamped this thrift store lamp.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you were to purchase any of the items linked at no additional cost to you. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Finally, I am taking the time to write about my quarantine project. I bought two lamps at Goodwill in February and finished painting them in March.
I love the way the lamps turned out. They make a statement with the fun, chevron pattern but the design is simple enough to go in a lot of different spaces.
When I saw these lime green lamps on the shelf at Goodwill they just spoke to me. I think I partially just really liked the shape of them, they were unique. Immediately I could envision painting them white and then doing a hand-painted black design.
After walking by them on the shelf a couple of times, I finally decided to add them to my cart.
Hand-painted brush stroke designs are very popular with home decor right now. I’m seeing people all over Pinterest painting their walls with these fun patterns. A wall is a little too much for me to paint like this, but a lamp seems just right.
Another thing that I love about this paint style is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. I think it’s the imperfection that makes this look so beautiful.
How to Makeover a Thrift Store Lamp
Here are the step by step instructions on how I gave these lime green lamps a makeover!
Materials Needed
- Lamp
- Spray Paint
- Newspaper
- Painters Tape
- Paint brushes
- Black Acrylic Paint
Go to your nearest thrift store to find a lamp in need of a makeover. I paid $4.99 for each of my lamps. Or you can also check somewhere like Facebook Marketplace to find a good deal.
Prep the Lamp to Be Spray Painted
The first step in this project is to spray paint the base lamp. I chose to go with a white spray paint.
Lay out some newspaper to protect the area. I decided to spray paint in my garage because it was an open area that will get air.
To prep your lamp you will want to wipe down the surface with something like a microfiber cloth.
Then protect the top of the lamp and the chord by covering it in painter’s tape.
Spray Paint the Lamp
Once the area is prepped and you have tape covering the pieces of the lamp that you don’t want painted, you can begin to paint.
I was concerned that the ceramic texture of the lamp would be difficult to paint, but it wasn’t.
Paint multiple LIGHT coats. Notice that I am stressing light! I’m not completely happy with the base coat of the lamp. I think I sprayed on too heavy of a coat the first round. So, be patient and try to achieve a perfect look by doing multiple, light coats.
Practice Your Hand-Painted Pattern
I don’t know about you, but painting is not an activity that I do very often. I wanted to hand paint the design, but I also didn’t trust myself to just start painting whatever.
So, I decided to cut up some pieces of paper and practice. I ended up painting multiple swatches so I had a lot of options to choose from. This was also a fairly relaxing activity. As I was painting the swatches I watched a nice penguin documentary on Disney+, it was a good morning.
Of course the design I like the best, the chevron look, happened to also be the most complex. I made multiple mistakes my first time painting the swatch, so I practiced a couple more times. Each time I noticed that it was hard for me to paint in a straight line and have the lines evenly spaced.
I then decided to make myself a little guide! I took a small piece of cardboard and angled the top to be the same as the design. Then I used this guide to help me paint the arrows onto the whole swatch. This ended up working great!
To create a guide you can use something like cardstock paper. You’ll just want to use something that will stay in place and not flop around, a regular piece of paper may be difficult to work with.
Begin Hand Painting the Pattern
Set up a spot and start painting! I have a folding table that I use for my craft projects. I set it up in front of the TV and got to work.
I won’t lie, this took hours for me to paint both of the lamps. If you go for more of the free brush stroke design, it won’t take that long. But because I lined up my guide and ever so carefully painted the lines, it took some time. My hands started to cramp up at the end, but it was worth it!
Once you’ve finished painting the lamp, remove the painter’s tape to see the finished product.
Let’s Talk Lampshades
So, the reason I’m just now posting this DIY project is because I’m struggling with a lamp shade. A word of advice, buy a lamp with a lampshade if you can!
If I could go back and reselect a different lamp, I would find one that had a lamp shade and then just paint the shade myself (or leave it as is). I thought for this project I could easily find a lampshade to fit this size of lamp and buy a harp to attach it.
I was able to find a lampshade easy enough, I found this one for $9.99 at Target. However I have struggled to find a harp that would fit to attach the shade.
I originally planned to paint this lampshade black. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, I still might paint it! I don’t love the color of this lampshade, but the shape I do like.
My other issue is I have no idea where to put these lamps in my house…
Thrift Store Lamp Makeover Cost Breakdown
In all my DIY posts I like to break down the cost of the projects. This is the cost for one lamp, even though I made two.
- Lamp from Goodwill – $4.99
- Spray paint – $3.98
- Painter’s Tape – $3.98
- Lamp shade – $9.99
I spent a total of $22.94 to makeover a thrift store lamp. I already had the other materials required for the project.
Below are some lamps that I think are comparable in style to this thrifted makeover.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! This is my first tutorial for a home decor item, usually my DIY posts are about jewelry or clothing. For example, I have one about DIY pearl earrings and another on how to reverse tie dye a sweatshirt.
Thanks for reading!
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