How I Rescued a Pair of $1 Yard Sale Lamps

I love a good flea market flip, don’t you??? Here’s the story of How I Rescued a Pair of $1 Yard Sale Lamps.

Here’s what I used for supplies:

We’ve had them for a couple of years. We bought them for $1 each!! Yard sale lamps BEFORE a makeover with spray paint

I didn’t *dislike* the colour, but they never truly jived with anything we had going on. So wasn’t it just serendipity when our friends over at Krylon sent us some paint to test out? Yes. Yes, it was.

First thing, I taped up the lamps and covered the cords and socket with tin foil. Best trick. Use it. For realz.

Then I used the Krylon Spray Primer to take the edge off the glossy green lamp bases. I followed that up with three thin coats of Flat White. This picture is right after I put on the primer.

Here’s the thing. They aren’t perfect. I don’t think I could ever get them perfect. I’m really not the best spray painter, but I tried very hard to follow all the instructions and guidelines for these. Essentially, there are a few small areas where the paint just didn’t stick well. But it’s hardly noticeable.

I went back and taped up almost the whole lamp, with the exception of about 3.5 inches at the base. That got two solid coats of Copper. Le Love.

The last step for the lamps was to replace the tired and dingy shades with bright white, round ones. These shades are a great deal and are easily customizable down the line if I want.

As you can see, we’ve moved a few things around in the living room. For the summer, we have our bookshelves set up along this stairwell wall. When guests come over, it’s the perfect spot for serving wine and appetizers. (And for staging newly painted lamps.)

I was going to paint two irregular black stripes around the body of the lamps, but truthfully, I decided to quit while I was ahead. I was worried that I’d screw up the black paint and the whole project would be a mess. I like the simplicity of these now anyway.