Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Lamp

I found these items at our local thrift shop a few weeks ago. This is the inspiration for an upcoming master bedroom redo.  We've had the same decor since we have been married and it's time for a change.

The framed art is new with tags. I paid $4 for it.  The flowers were $2. I love how delicate and wispy they are.

I bought the black lamp the same day for $4. It is solid wood and very heavy. The glossy paint is in perfect condition. The problem was it had no shade. I knew if I kept my eyes peeled I could find one. The very next week I found a shade for 50 cents. It was creme colored. Nothing fancy. I knew I wanted it to be black toile. I could hardly wait to get to town to get some fabric. A few days later as I was going through my closet I found a toile skirt way at the back. I made the wrap skirt about 5 years ago. Problem was I used a thick upholsrtry fabric for it and it never laid the way it should have. I only wore it a time or two. I was so excited.  I spent 30 minutes unpicking the black and white gingham ribbon from around the bottom of the skirt. But I knew it would look nice around the shade. About an hour later I was finished. I love the finished product. My friend came over and saw it sitting on my kitchen counter. She said "That is a $60 lamp."

The little wood Paris sign was 50 cents!

I bought these two pictures years ago after our family returned from living in England. I found them at Target and had to have them. They have been hanging in the living room for years. They will make a nice addition to the master bedroom.



This is another lighting fixture that I spruced up. I wish I had a before picture but I don't. This was an ugly old light in the dining room when we purchased the house. Just imagine it without shades and the middle wood part being a dark brown stain. I really wanted to change out this fixture but we were on a very limited budget so I revamped it. I sanded and painted the wood part white. Then I was on a hunt to find lamp shades to cover in toile. I went to Goodwill on a mission and still can't believe my find. They had 5. Not 4. Not 6. But 5. I Couldn't believe it. They were white and still in the shrink wrap. Brand spankin new and 50 cents each.  I bought a toile tablecloth at T.J. Max and used it to cover the shades. I also made a runner for my bufftet and a valance for my kitchen window from the tablecloth.



5 comments:

  1. Arlene,
    I expect you will enjoy your old skirt much more as a new lampshade! It turned out really nice and the sign and flowers are perfect with it. ~Cathy~

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  2. I love all your frenchy stuff. Especially the lamp. And I love that you used an old toile skirt to cover the shade. And the ribbon does give it a designer touch. My bedroom is done in black & white toile. And I can't believe you found 5 lamp shades at the same time. I need to find 9, wish me luck!

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  3. Love the lamp, Arlene and the dining light is even more scrumptious...thanks for sharing!

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  4. I love it! What a creative idea to use the skirt! The lamp looks great and your flowers are perfect next to the sign!

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  5. Hi Arlene, thanks for dropping by my blog. I was just checking out some of your posts. Recently I have been on a lampshade kick. I have found about 5 of them practically brand new as well. I was wondering if you could give a quick tutorial on how you covered your shades.

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