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Confessions of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer

Simple DIY tutorials and thrifty furniture and decor makeovers

Beach-Inspired Lamp Makeover

Hello beautiful Friends! I have a quick makeover for y’all today. But first, thanks to everyone who tuned into my Facebook LIVE demo of how to line dresser drawers on Tuesday! Having some of you there chiming in in real time made it so much more fun! If you missed it, you can catch the replay on my Facebook page HERE.

Have you ever had a really nice piece of décor that you hated to get rid of, but it just no longer matched your décor?

I found the cutest lamp at the thrift store for $5 (actually $5 minus my 25% off coupon 🙂 ) last week:

Right? There is absolutely nothing wrong with this lamp. It is actually quite pretty, but my guess is that it just no longer matched the previous owner’s décor.

Well no need to throw in the towel so soon…why not paint it?

Lamp updated with paint for a beachy look from confessionsofaserialdiyer.com

The burlap shade made me see this lamp with more of a coastal feel.  So while the before was very nice, I had fun changing up the style with paint! I’ve included a few affiliate links so you can find the products I love.

This is Behr’s Bit of Sugar made into DIY chalk paint. (Recipe with video HERE.)

Lamp updated with paint for a beachy look from confessionsofaserialdiyer.com

I decided to add a pop of color with a stripe of Sunken Pool, also by Behr first.

Then I used my silhouette machine (I have this one.) to cut a “stencil” for the graphic:

Silhouette Cameo is perfect for creating "stencils"

I like to use regular old contact paper for this because I’m cheap like that, and it works great!

I originally created this graphic a couple of years ago to use on an oval tray. You can see that HERE. I still had it saved in my silhouette library so I was easily able to scale it down to fit this lamp.

I filled in the “stencil” using black acrylic craft paint and a small brush. I removed the contact paper stencil very carefully right away, but waited until it was dry to remove the tiny pieces left behind.

When it was plenty dry, I very lightly sanded across the graphic to soften  and smooth it a bit. Then I sealed with Annie Sloan’s Clear Soft Wax.

Lamp updated with paint for a beachy look from confessionsofaserialdiyer.com

I chose not to sand the edges since the underneath is gold, and I didn’t want that showing through. I could have painted it black first so I could enhance those edges a bit by sanding, but I think it is pretty cute as is…

Lamp updated with paint for a beachy look from confessionsofaserialdiyer.com

I love lamps for my booth space. They add additional much needed lighting!

Lamp updated with paint for a beachy look from confessionsofaserialdiyer.com

And anything I’ve added our city’s name to has sold quickly so hopefully this little fella will too.

Lamp updated with paint for a beachy look from confessionsofaserialdiyer.com

 

Lamp updated with paint for a beachy look from confessionsofaserialdiyer.com

I enjoyed working on a small, less needy project for a change…I hope you enjoyed it too!

Lamp updated with paint for a beachy look from confessionsofaserialdiyer.com

If you liked this makeover, then you’ll love this one:

See how I updated the larger of these two curbside (FREE!!) finds HERE! 🙂

I’ll be back on Tuesday sharing how I updated this chair that I redid to go with my $30 dressing table:

UPDATE: See how this chair looks now HERE!

Have a fantastic weekend!!

XO,

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Comments

    • Thank you, Cheryl! I wouldn’t be in business if it weren’t for the powers of paint lol! XOXO

  2. Christy, this lamp is going to sell so quickly in your shop! Cute, bright and cheerful. Great going!
    Belated Happy ST. V’s to you and yours!

  3. I love this!!! So cute!! How do you paint on a stencil without bleed through??? I have tried everything. I use craft paint. I’ve never tried a brush as I thought that would make it worse. You must have a secret Christy?!
    Laura

    • Thanks, Laura! I used contact paper which is adhesive, so less chance for that pesky bleeding. If I use a regular stencil, I spray spray adhesive to the back of it for the same reason! XOXO

  5. I just realized you live in Va Beach! That’s a couple of hours from me so I would love to come see you booth one day. What are hours and dates you are open.
    I love your stuff because it is “doable”! So many are not.

    Love the lamp. Would love to get a cricut or some type machine to do lettering like this but it scares me that it’s too hard to learn! The older I get the less I learn easily.
    THanks for sharing your talent.

    • Thank you so much, Janice! Yes, I am in VB…glad to hear I’m not too far away! My booth is in the Virginia Beach Antique Mall. It is open M-F 10-6 and weekends 10-5. 🙂 I totally understand not wanting to try all this new techy stuff…believe it or not, I am much the same way! But you could figure it out, I’m sure. XOXO

    • Thanks, Paula!! Usually when I add VB to a piece, it sells quickly…hoping that goes for this too! XOXO

  8. Getting ready to go out the door for a doctor’s appt., but I thought I would take a quick peep at my emails. I just had to look at this one because I was wondering what you were going to do with it. Of course, another fantastic makeover for Christy! Although the lamp is in good shape I would have passed it by not thinking it could be transformed into something like this! Great job!

  9. What a great update! I don’t know how you saw past that original design to get it to its present gloriousness, Christy. Very coastal, indeed.

    • Thank you, Marcie! It was the burlap shade that hooked me, but then I noticed the oval shape of it gave me a bit of a flat surface to add something to…very happy that it worked out! XOXO

  10. Once again you got it out of the park Christy. I’m always amazed by your vision and painting techniques. Your so gifted in any project you take on.
    Have a great day it’s already beautiful this morning in Virinia Beach. ????

    • Aww thank you so much, Gin! I appreciate that! Yes today was amazing…I spent the day thrifting and it was just perfect! XOXO

  11. Perfect Christy! Love it. I plan on getting one of those Cameo machines soon. I hear they can be used to cut fabric stencils for quilting also. 😉

  12. Nice job on the lamp. I don’t think there’s been anything you’ve redone that I didn’t ❤️

  13. I love this makeover! What s beautiful transformation! A beach look is so perfect for this lamp. I always look forward to seeing your before and after’s. You inspire me! Thank you.

  14. Christy, Could you explain what your stencil is made of? What kind of material do you use for these stencils and why? Many thanks,

    • Hi Elizabeth! I use regular old contact paper. It works the very same as vinyl which is what is recommended for the silhouette, but at a fraction of the cost! 🙂

  15. Very cute! I wonder if you wanted the gold accent, if it might work if you used something like rub n buff lightly over the areas you wanted it. I’ve done that on some pieces that had colors I did not want showing underneath but still wanted to highlight with gold or silver.
    I have neighbors who go to Virginia Beach every fall….am thinking they might love this in their home…..will need to try it. Thanks for the idea!

    • Thanks, Julie! I had to give it a little something more. 🙂 And for sure…I think keeping the same colors/ styles does really help. 🙂

  18. God thing I don’t have your talent,my house would be hard to walk through ????????I would have a hard time letting go of many of your makeovers.Thanks for sharing.

  20. I didn’t care for the before pic of the lamp, I thought it was a bit ugly, but once again you turned an ugly duckling into a swan! Tuesday’s & Thursday’s are now my favorite days to check my email for new inspiration from you! ????????????
    Thank you again for all the inspiration! Kim ????

  21. Your work is amazing and I can hardly wait till I find the right piece to do some stenciling like you have done. I’m always so inspired when I look at all the different and wonderful pieces you have done.

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