Transforming Old Brass Lamps

Old brass lamps. You find them at just about every garage sale and Goodwill. And guess where we found these? Yep, in my mother-in-law's storage unit.

This weekend, we decided to rent a truck and bring some furniture from storage to my son, John, in Indiana. 

"Hey, bring the lamps. I really need lamps," he said.

Really? Those ugly things with the yellowed lamp shades? If you say so!

I threw the lamp shades away and decided we could do something with those lamps to make them a little more modern.

I took some measurements and photos, and we headed over to Lowe's, where we bought new shades and this Rustoleum spray paint in Espresso. Mmmm. I like the name!

For starters, I lightly sanded the brass and cleaned it up with a dry cloth. Then, using old grocery bags, I taped off the areas that I did not want to get painted...the sockets and the cords.

I gave everything a full coat of Espresso, and let it dry for about an hour. And it looked fine this way, too. But we decided to give everything a little, aged look.

We found a leftover can of Sherwin Williams paint in the garage in Repose Grey. Perfect!

Using a cheap foam brush, I applied the paint in a sweeping circular motion. And then, while it was still wet, I went over it with a paper towel to remove it from some spots.

I let it dry, and then used a sanding block to remove some more paint. This allows the Espresso underneath to show through, giving it almost a birch tree effect.

Voila! New lamps!

The burlap shades worked well and gave some contrasting color to the walls.

Have you priced lamps at the store these days? I think we saved a lot of money with this DIY project!

I may have a few more DIY projects to share, so stop back!

Happy Monday, cafe friends!