One thing I really love to do is take old items that my husband and I picked up in our college days and change them to fit our new decor style and mature adult home. I love spending only a couple bucks and completely transforming a piece so we can reuse it in our home. You can really save a lot of money on your home decor budget by doing this! Instead of trashing it, turn it into a treasure! That’s what I decided to do with an old and boring lamp that my husband had had since I met him. Time for a classy lamp upcycle!
Here’s the before:
It’s okay, for a lamp. Just pretty plain and boring and the lampshade was a aged yellowy white and covered in cat fur… Not really my style. So it sat in the garage for months until I finally got around to giving it a makeover!
This lamp upcycle was SUPER easy and took only minutes! All I did was cover the electrical parts of the lamp with a combo of painter’s tape and tin foil and then spray paint that baby with a gorgeous matte black spray paint. I love the look of the matte – it’s classy and sophisticated and provides a subtle accent instead of the in-your-face quality that glossy can have.
After that, it was just a quick trip to Target where I picked up a sweet gray and white herringbone shade. At only $15, I’d say it was a good deal to make this lamp like new! After putting on the shade and screwing in a new bulb, this lamp has a brand new life. No dumpster for this guy!
The size of this lamp makes it a great entry table lamp. We just turn it on and leave it on while we are out – that way we aren’t stumbling around in the dark trying to take our shoes off when we get home. I’m working on adding more lighting to our space and revamping what lamps we already have on hand is a great way to save money! That just means I get to spend it on other cute decor accents, right? 😉
 If you had $1,000 to spend on home decor, how would you spend it?
Such an easy and cute update! I love that shade 🙂 I wish my hubby’s college good were save-able…notsomuch.
Thanks so much, Emily! There were a few college things of ours that we’ve been able to salvage haha but for the most part it’s good to get rid of that old stuff!
Pretty makeover, Erica! Love your gallery wall and the chalkboard wall especially! Hope you guys have a fabulous weekend!
Thank you so much, Kendra! I’m super in love with my chalkboard wall, too 🙂 I hope you had a great weekend!
This turned out so great, Erica! We have so many old things from our college days that could definitely use a makeover!
Thanks so much, Bre! It definitely saved me a couple bucks to make this lamp pretty instead of buying a new one 🙂
I love the update! It looks so beautiful next to that silver deer. That is a little deer, right? She is so cute!
Thanks so much, Gwen! And haha, I’m not sure… sometimes I think she looks like a deer, and sometimes I think the is a llama. Either way, I just couldn’t resist her when I saw her at Target (on clearance)!
ewww… covered in cat fur! Blah! It looks so good Erica! What a nice update that didn’t cost much!
Haha, my whole life is covered in cat fur. Thank goodness for those sticky lint rollers! 😉 And thank you! I love when I can save a couple bucks by making over what we already have 😉
Love this! It looks so much better! It looks perfect next to your gallery wall too!
Thank you so much, Amy!:)
Good article Erica! It amazing how much you can accomplish with so little! Hopefully, you will share some similar ideas for lamps in future?