Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Chalkboard Lamps - Big Boy's Bedroom

The first project in the Big Boy's Bedroom is to update (for the second time!) a pair of lamps found several years ago at TJ Maxx. The bases were originally a very bright neon yellow glass, which was probably the reason for their very low price tags. A layer of primer and brown paint fixed the color problem, and the beige drum shades were covered with a striped red and tan fabric. Cute and just right for the first room I put together for Max.



We're no longer in that home and it's finally time to give Max's current room some attention. After our interview, in which he informed me his favorite color is black and that he wants a chalkboard in his room, I got an idea.


Would it work to turn these lamps into a pair of Chalkboard Lamps? I've never seen any, but I had all the needed supplies on hand so why not give it a try. It just might be a fun way to reinvent these lamps, so I jumped right in.


After lightly sanding the surface, to remove the texture I had added to the lamp bases during their first transformation, a bit of the primer shows beneath the brown paint. The second lamp has already moved on to the next step, in which the bases are painted with a layer of tinted primer.


Once the primer dries the bases are then painted with Chalkboard Paint.


Several hours later (I didn't wait 24 hours...oh well, all will be just fine) I covered the chalkboard surface with chalk, using the edge of the stick. If you read my posts on the chalkboard wall in the Home Office Redesign, you know this is done so that once the surface is written on it will be erasable.


Then the chalk was rubbed into the surface...


and wiped away. LOVE!!


When Max came home from school I handed him some chalk and this is what he wrote...




and then drew.


Oh...I LOVE these lamps! Later they were carried up to the room and inspired the next step for the redesign. Look for that tomorrow. I just wish all the projects for this bedroom could be so fast and simple!
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39 comments:

Dreams of Perfection said...

This is so CUTE! I would've never thought of this. It'll be like having lamps that change often just by him changing of artwork!

The Boese Family said...

Love it! I too have a thing for chalkboards. Can't wait to see what you do next!

Kelly said...

At first I was like, 'Whaaat?' when I saw this in my reader, but it's perfect with those shapes. I like it with or without chalk. Without chalk, the finish has sort of a deep, organic look that is very nice.

How great are these for a kid's room?! Instead of creating a 'Don't touch anything -- don't break the lamps!' vibe, it envokes a 'Play with me, explore vibe!' Fantastic!

Kelly

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Your little Max is just adorable & what a great idea for a boy's room.

I clicked over from Kate's to see your kitchen redo & WOW, is that ever gorgeous. Great job on it and the family room. Love, love it all!

Lori said...

How cute is that???

Design Esquire said...

Love them, and it looks like Max does too!

A Perfect Gray said...

looks great!

Lynda @ Happenstance Home said...

Your chalkboard lamps turned out more than great. It's nice to see how unattractive yellow lamps can be transformed into something useful and fantastic.

1 Funky Woman said...

What a great idea, and he got what he wanted and no cost to you! Refurbishing is so grand!

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

How great you've been able to repurpose these lamps, Janell! Never would have thought of doing chalkboard on them.

Lovely Little Nest said...

What a neat idea! I'm sure your son will love them :)

Destination Seaborn said...

What a great idea! They look adorable and even better Max can personalize it as he wishes! Lisa

Jack and Annie said...

Too cute! It looks like Max likes them too!

LAKEITHA said...

That is so cool Janell! And Max already seems to love it. I think that I'm going to do a chalkboard wall for the boys bedroom or playroom.

Quick question. Is it easy to cover a lampshade with fabric? What did you use to do it?

Isabella & Max Rooms said...

Super easy, because I used a fabric that doesn't fray that much and also ran the fabric up to the existing bans at the top and bottom of the shade. I used Dritz Liquid Stitch, using a line of it along the top and bottom, as well as on the overlapping seam.
Hope this helps! Janell

Nicole said...

I love it! So darn creative and a great way to give Max a canvas for his own creativity! What will you do with the shades? Can't wait to see!

Averill said...

Love this, Janell! I can't imagine how much fun Max is going to have with these.

Susie @ Maddie's Nest said...

Such a great idea for a child's room. I may have to copy you down the road!

Wendy @ The Shabby Nest said...

You ARE a CLEVER girl!!! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea!!

Anny said...

How clever, I'd never seen chalked lamps before ;)

High-Heeled Foot in the door said...

Oh they look great! I'm happy your client loved them as well and added his own mark to them.

Darlene - Our Creative Life said...

Chalk Board Lamps...Genius! What a great idea! By the way did you get mey email?

Darlene

Heather@PixieDust said...

very cool! I was wondering why you have two beds in his room?

Blarney said...

Super cute! My Little Man has been asking for a bedroom do-over for quite some time but with his request for red walls I've been putting it off for lack of inspiration.

Isabella & Max Rooms said...

Good question Heather! We don't have a guest room, in this house or our previous home. When we have company it gives us a lot of options to move people around and accommodate guests...particularly with a queen bed in Isabella's room. It's all about options! Janell

LindsB said...

What a creative way to bring black into his room! These came out great!!

Jeff and Holly said...

Kind of off topic, but how did you recover those drum shades?

mirela said...

hi janell ..I'm a huge fan of our blog & your renovations..just letting you i have given you a beautiful Blogger Award XX

Isabella & Max Rooms said...

For those of you who have asked about covering the drum shade, I'll have to do a post on this sometime. But in the meantime here is how I did it:

I measured the diameter of the drum, added about 2" and then measured the height of the drum between the top and bottom bands. I cut the fabric to these measurements and then used some Dritz fabric glue along the top and bottom edges to attached the fabric to the shade. At the seam I folded under the fabric and glued that in place. This works best with fabric that doesn't fray.

Thanks for asking! Janell

Paula Grace Designs said...

How wonderful! He'll be able to change them when its right for him. What a good mom you are!
Paula Grace ~

{Arianna Belle} said...

What a fun idea! They look great!

Chic Coles said...

Wow what a fun project.

Erika @ BluLabel Bungalow said...

Such a cool project! I really love how your kids get involved in the design process. Makes for some really great memories!

maureen @ The Inglenook Decor said...

OMG! Fabulous! Hurry & patent this idea! You are the bomb Janell!:)

Marianne@Songbird said...

What a cute idea, when you said chalkboard and lamps I thought you were somehow going to make the covers into a chalkboard, but using the stands this way is much better.

Sarah said...

clever. my boys would love this.

sachin said...

really very nice lamps wish to buy them can anybody let me know from where i can buy them earlier i tried on one online lighting store

himel kush said...

What a great idea.I was wondering why you have two beds in his room.


http://www.acoolmall.com/o~c-Furniture~a-bedroom_furniture-queen~b-73188.aspx

Janell @ House of Fifty said...

Good question, we don't have a guest room, so when extras arrive we can move people around to accommodate guests! Janell