Chevron & "Mercury Glass" Lamp Makeover

  

  One of my favorite things to do is take old lamps and make them beautiful again. I was given this old, and not so pretty, lamp a little while back... {People seem to give me things like this all the time now...} Well, I could have tossed it or given it to Goodwill, but I knew this baby had potential.
  A few months ago I bought a can of Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint. I knew I wanted to use it to make a "mercury glass" lamp like the ones I've seen at Pottery Barn and Ballard Designs, I just had to decide how I wanted the shade to look... Then, I remembered having this dusty blue chevron fabric leftover from some pillows I made a while back... Perfect? Oh, yes... Perfect, indeed. :)


So, here are the exact materials I used:

• Lamp
• Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint
• Blue Chevron Fabric ~ about .5 yd (Exact amount depends on the size of your shade. Just measure the shade and add at least 3 inches to the length and 4 inches to the width to see how much fabric you need)
• High Temp Hot Glue Gun with glue sticks
• Scissors
• Iron

Soo, here is the original lamp... Yeah, I know. Not too pretty, right? Loads of potential, though...

  First, I used a damp cloth to clean the entire base of the lamp, then dried it. Next, I took a plastic bag and wrapped around the top since I didn't need to paint that part. I just used blue painters tape to secure it. I also wrapped tape around the power cord. You can also use masking tape for this.

  Now for the fun part. I used Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint and applied 3 VERY thin coats in a horizontal motion. Seriously, I mean, like, extremely thin coats. I waited about 1 minute between each coat for the paint to evaporate. This will make sense once you use this type of paint. You can literally see the paint evaporate. 

That's all I did to the base... and just waited for the paint to dry, which didn't take long at all.

**FYI~ I know this paint is a little more expensive than typical spray paint, but it is well worth it. Don't just buy silver or chrome paint and expect to see the same results. One can was enough for 2 lamps. The other lamp, I will share soon. :)

  Now for the shade... This part should be fairly simple if you're using a drum shape. A drum shade is one that has the same circumference throughout. (the top and bottom are the same size ;))

First, I peeled the cruddy old trim off the shade... I was lucky that it came off with no problem. :)

  Next, I basically wrapped the fabric around the shade to see how much I would need. I added a couple of inches at the top and bottom, and about 3 inches to the length...

  Before actually gluing the fabric to the shade, I did a little trial run, so to speak... I just used clips and attached the fabric to make sure my length, width, etc. looked ok...

  Then, I ironed the fabric really well and attached it to the lampshade using my handy, dandy little hot glue gun... A high temp glue gun works much better for this... You don't want to take a chance of the glue drying too fast and having lumps on your pretty "new" lampshade.

  Starting at the side of the shade that already had a seam, I put one long strip of glue and secured that end of the fabric.

   I, then, started wrapping the fabric and gluing as I went... I personally found it much easier to glue the outside of the top first, then fold the fabric over and glue to the inside of the top. Be sure to pull your fabric very tightly and keep it straight as you do this step. You don't want any creases or wrinkles.

  I hemmed the overlapping end of the fabric using my glue gun (or you can sew it, that's just up to you). I finished attaching this end by overlapping and gluing on the same side I started. I just used one long strip of glue. Lastly, I folded the bottom fabric under and glued it the same way I did the top.

  It may seem like several steps, but, trust me... this is a very simple project. I think it took me less than 45 minutes, total.

  Soo... The next time you're about to throw a pitiful looking lamp to the curb or pass one up at a yard sale, I hope you'll remember this little lamp and choose to give it a little makeover, instead!