Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Table Lamp Happiness!

Happiness perfectly describes my feelings about the table lamp transformation! Here are the finished lamps and I couldn't be more pleased with the result.

The project began by finding a pair of gourd lamps at HomeGoods. The first job was to correct the color problem, cobalt blue is not a part of the color scheme for the master bedroom! Then better quality shades were picked up at Lamps Plus, followed by a search for a fabric to cover the shades.


I selected Waverly's Canton Bazaar fabric in walnut. This chinoiserie print has a fun, quirky nature, but also an air of sophistication. The fabric is placed differently on each shade, highlighting the elephant on one and the figures under a canopy on the other.


The high gloss finish creates a look that appears more expensive than their $39.00 price tag, in my opinion! I had never used this protective finish before and was surprised how well it worked.


The lamps showcasing their "before" stage above...and their "after" below.


I also elected to paint the black bases the same color as the lamps. I thought doing this would result in a cleaner, more sophisticated design.


There is a very faint green accent color in the print, and I used this as the guiding inspiration for selecting a ribbon trim.


The master bedroom these will be placed in is currently a bit of a work zone, so for now I've placed them on the big round table I work at in the living room. I love how the sun is reflected on their surfaces in these photos.


And what project is next? An expanse of Bocce fabric will be run up the center of one wall, creating a headboard. That work starts later today, and I'll let you in on a secret...for this project I'm calling in a friend to help!!

53 comments:

  1. Those look great! I cannot wait to see your finished room! Have a great day.

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  2. Gorgeous! I especially like how the bases are done the same glossy finish -- very sleek. Can't wait for more. Have fun with the headboard wall!
    Love,
    Michiganhome

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  3. Love those lamp and the asian style fabric.

    I'm anxiously awaiting for the headboard.

    Have a nice one!

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  4. oh girl. those lamps turned out gorgeous!

    picked up your blog yesterday from the nester! woot!

    lauren@mylifeandmyloves

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  5. I LOVE those lamps! LOVE I tell ya! Hey, just by chance they don't work in the room, you have my address! Just send them to me ;-)

    I can't wait to see your headboard! And having a friend help is great! I started TJ's bed skirt last night with ribbon and oh its so much better than plane white!

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  6. The lamps turned out great!! I LOVE them! Looking forward to the headboard!

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  7. You are queen of the lamp makeover! You made these look like they cost $1000!

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  8. They are just gorgeous!! I love the fabric and the ribbon together, and the high gloss is out of this world.

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  9. The fabric and ribbon are perfect! I need to figure out how to do this!

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  10. The lamps look beautiful! Love the green ribbon trim! :)

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  11. Low cost, high style! Way to go Janell, that's my kind of transformation!

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  12. Love the finished look. I may have missed this....but what type of glue do you use to do the ribbon trim on your shades? I recently did hot glue on some and it may have been user error but these shades won't see the light of day until I fix them! They look very amateur.

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  13. Really pretty lamps, great job on redoing those in such a unique way. I love HG's too for lamps.

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  14. Great job on the lamps!! I am really excited to see what the headboard wall is going to look like!

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  15. the lamps turned out so beautiful! I love the shiny gloss finish

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  16. These lamps are gorgeous. I hate covering lampshades. You make them look so perfect and professional.
    Kelly

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  17. Janell, you never cease to amaze me. I wish we were next door neighbors! These look SO expensive, what a great job. Now I can't wait to see the fabric up on the wall.

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  18. What a transformation - I can see why you are happy! Especially when you think that you started at picture number 3 and got to your first picture. The design elements came together so nicely, they have such a sophisticated look. Another impressive job!

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  19. I love how you reinvented these lamps to work for your design, Janell! They turned out beautiful! Plus, you have a unique pair of lamps that no one else has.

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  20. These turned out SO WELL! I am seriously inspired...

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  21. Wow, those are beautiful lamps! Great job :-) I recently finished a $1 thrift store lamp makeover but chickened out and purchased a shade from Target. I would love to cover my own shade at some point though so I am glad to see your tutorial.
    -Desiree

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  22. Beautiful. You did a fabulous job with these.

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  23. Wow. Just wow. These turned out beautifully. Can't wait to see the rest of the room.

    Kelly

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  24. they look so pretty, what a gret transformation

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  25. Love em! They are so pretty!

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  26. Those turned out beautifully! They look like really expensive custom lamps!

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  27. This looks incredible! I'm in love with that fabric and your taste.....awesome!!!!

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  28. You've completely transformed these lamps. I really like what you've done with them! I need to do this with my thrift store lamp. :)

    Sarah

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  29. the fabric you selected is beautiful... love the marching elephants. well done!

    xo,
    cristin

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  30. They came out perfect! I am loving this fabric, I need to find a place for it in my apartment :)

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  31. Bravo Janell. They look so great. I am not kidding when I tell you that you have inspired me to work with our dining room chandelier rather than replace it. I am heading to the fabric store this aft to find fabric to cover the shades. gulp...
    Carol

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  32. Love the transformation, especially going from that cobalt blue! I am wondering about the shades since they are covered in a dark fabric? How much does that cut down on the light? I like to read in bed, but thinking it would make it too dark?

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  33. Just lovely, Janell!!! You have such vision. I'm also wondering about teh light...do the dark shades cut down on the light that is cast alot?

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  34. Great question about the light!
    It's quite nice, for our use, but then I'm a big fan of soft light in the bedroom. Actually quite a bit of light does shine through, and the lamps are quite tall, which also helps ample light shine down. But perhaps not for everyone. In that case start with a lighter colored shade and use a lighter colored fabric. Thanks for bringing up a great point! Janell

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  35. These lamps will look fabulous in the room! Can we trade homes!?!? LOL Love your work!

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  36. gorgeous lamps! love all the curves & the fabric pattern...

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  37. gorgeous! and perfect timing... i've been eyeballing my ever-so-boring bedroom lamps thinking i should spray paint the bases and cover the shades with fabric. thanks for the tutorial! pam

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  38. HomeGoods + paint + great fabric. What could be better? These turned out great!

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  39. Hello from all of us here at LampsPlus.com! We love the lamps; the end result looks great. Just curious, but what Lamps Plus shade did you use? We'll include this post on the Lamps Plus blog: http://www.lampsplus.com/Info-Center/b/blog/ Thanks again! John at Lamps Plus

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  40. Hi John,
    Glad you like them! Here is the link to the shades from Lamps Plus I used in this project:

    http://www.lampsplus.com/products/Fog-Linen-Round-Hardback-Shade-15x16x11-Spider__97472.html

    How fun it will be to have this project posted on your blog, thanks! Janell

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  41. Janell, thanks for the info. I've got a post about your project set to publish in the LampsPlus.com blog on July 6th. You can preview it here: http://www.lampsplus.com/Info-Center/b/blog/archive/2010/07/06/a-table-lamp-transformation.aspx
    Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thanks again!

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  42. Hi! I love your lamps and tomorrow Im going to spray paint my ceramic bases a pretty aqua, I was wondering for your lamp shades how much fabric you used. My shades are about the same size but I don't know how much fabric I should order.

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  43. Hi Sonia,
    Are the shades a drum shape or do they have a slight taper? If drum, measure the circumference to make sure 54" is wide enough to wrap around the shade and then measure the shade height and add at least 4" for ease.

    If it is a tapered shade is gets a little trickier as the fabric will need to be cut with a curve at each end. To see how much yardage you need lay the shade out along an edge of an island or a line on the floor and roll it half its diameter to one side and see how far up it moves. Measure the distance from where the bottom shade was placed prior to rolling to the spot the top of the shade hits after rolling. Add at least 6 inches or more (just to be sure) to this measurement.

    I have no idea if I explained that clearly! Check the tutorial I did on covering tapered lampshades to get a visual of rolling the shade along the width of the fabric.

    Good luck! Janell

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  44. Those lamp shades are so good but the best part of that lamp shades are their body. I really love the shape of it.

    black crystal lamp

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  45. This is so lovely. I am featuring it (with links back to you, of course) in my next post!. Come by if you can and see

    www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

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  46. Fabulous Table Lamps! Nice work! Thanks for doing this blog. I absolutely love it!

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  47. Lone naysayer here, but I actually LOVED them before. The dark blue base w/ the white lamp shade looks way better IMHO.

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I love receiving your comments! Thanks for letting me know what you think...Janell