I posted this mid-fluffing picture of my office on Instagram last week and had some questions about the lamp.
(My plan is to bring the orange rug back for Fall and add a few blue accents. Oh, and I also “organized” my bookcases. Hence, the pile of junk in the corner. . . )
So, my big, beautiful brass lamp. It was a find.
I paid a whopping $1 for it at a yard sale.
People around here must be reading something I’m not that says to get rid of all your brass lamp bases immediately. This may or may not be one of five brass lamps I’ve bought over the last few months, with the most expensive one costing me a whole $5. All have come from Goodwill, yard sales, or ummm…. I might have made my husband get out of the car at the dump and get one on the verge of being put into the ground. (Lamp rescue!) I’m accumulating a nice little collection of shade-less lamps in our garage.
Finding the right shade is always the tricky part. But, I remembered I had those huge ones from the lamps in our last dining room. (I originally found them at Pottery Barn Outlet.)
Luckily, they are more of a paper than a fabric shade and took about two minutes to spray paint. It’s Valspar’s Gloss Indigo Cloth–the same deep blue I used on my son’s metal bed.
Not bad for a dollar and some leftover spray paint.
Looking for another easy way to dress up a lamp shade? I posted about covering shades with fabric here.
Love the lamp. And your bookcases are adorable, love the dark back!
I LOVE your colors… royal blue with orange and a touch of zebra.
Perfect dose of color to give it a stylish new look! I share the addiction, I happened to notice eight lamps in my guest room the other day! :)
What a great lamp base – I love the shape of it! And it looks soooooo good with the blue!
Great shape on the lamp. I love it. Hugs, Marty
That blue shade is awesome! Love it with the brass. You just can’t beat spray paint!!!
I too have scored recently a $3 brass lamp at the thrift but still need to find the right shade. Your blue looks awesome, but thinking of doing black on mine. :-)
looks fantastic! I love the shape of that lamp. Have a great week Emily!
xo Nancy
Wow great find! I like the texture of the shade with the shiny brass. I have had no luck at Goodwill or yard sales lately.
Have a great week.
Kristi
Such a steal :) I have that lamp and got mine at gw for $5 and thought that was great! xo Kristin
That is the deal of the century! Gorgeous!!
Great looking lamp…love the shape. I always have such a hard time finding the right shades too…yours looks great!
The brass lamp has such an amazing shape and I’m not a brass girl! lol :)
I was just digging through my shade supply last night to find one to fit a new thrift find! I love how quickly you can repurpose shades. This is just beautiful!
Brass is coming back big this fall! Hang onto your brass everyone! Fortunately we have been happily out of style at our house because everything in our house is brass and now we are back in style without any effort on our part!
gorgeous! really love the dark color against the shiny brass.
gorg!!
Love this! Thanks for sharing!
You are officially my interior design role model!
Hi Emily,
I have the very same lamp! Actually I have two one is slightly different from the other, but I LOVE them. I got mine from thrift stores, mine being a little more expensive than your at a whopping $2.00! I am a lamp hoarder, rescuer too, looks great on your desk!
IF YOU WANNA SEE MY LAMPS YOU CAN HERE!
http://jslatelydesign.blogspot.com/2013/09/diy-framed-gold-bird-art-and-brass.html
Turned out gorgeous. I just spray painted some brass owls from a salvage yard with some left over paint.
Perfecto! They are reading the same thing here. I keep running into brass lamps. If that is your idea of messy on the bookshelves, you can’t come over :)
I love brass, and the painted shade is wonderful!
That blue is perfect. You never fail! (I found a 4 dollar brass lamp at Goodwill last week… I thought that was cheap!)
I have NEVER thought of this….What a great idea! I’ve been living with white lampshades in my bedroom…but this opens up a whole new world for me!!
THanks for sharing. Great idea.
That is one gorgeous lamp and shade makeover. Never would have thought of using blue but I love it!!
I need to come hang out with you with you while you shop yard sales and goodwill. Why can’t I ever find these things. Lovely lovely lamp, my friend.
I have that same lamp shade, good to know they are so easy to paint!
I love the armoire! We have one that is a similar size that I don’t particularly care for. How do you know when it’s something that requires sanding before priming and painting? I want to try to restore it but am afraid I will ruin it in the process, haha.
Emily, you are so inventive! I am always inspired by your posts. Thank you. I do have to say that Brass seems to be making a come-back, and I have also taken a “shine” to it in recent months, actually close on to a year. But I think it is just for the genuine kind of brass, not the high gloss 80s effect … So, you have to know how to work it, and you certainly do!
Spray painting a lampshade? Really……who knew! Gotta give that a try! LOVE that brass lamp and I have seen them for 50.00 and more at flea markets. You scored.
Love this lamp base!!
I would love to see a post on finding the right shades for lamps. I always have that issue with second hand lamps.
I am a huge fan of brass lamps and love the idea of spray painting the shades. This was an AMAZING find! Great work.
I got the exact same lamp on Craigslist years ago, and have been searching for the correct size shade ever since. Could you please provide the dimensions of your shade? Thanks! Love how it turned out!