Updating a Decorative Lamp – spray painting a candlestick lamp base

Welcome, welcome everyone to this weeks simple makeover anyone can do to change the look or update a sad piece of decor in the home. It was whilst unpacking yet another box in the garage earlier this year, I found a tired candlestick lamp base which almost made the charity shop pile. I didn’t like its pewter base anymore, I don’t do much pewter. And I hadn’t even packed the home-made shade I’d cobbled together originally with the lamp base either. Yet I did like its candlestick shape and it was small enough not to dominate yet large enough to light up a dark corner. And I am on a budget and I did have half a tin of spray paint left. Surely then it was worth a go to see if I could transform it into a decorative lamp for our home ….

I bought the this spray paint so long ago to upcycle two wooden stools and I had stopped midway through that project as I simply didn’t like the creamy shade I had selected. So as I had half a tin left, I decided to experiment with the unloved candlestick lamp base. And I have to say I  found the whole spray paint process a lot less messier than the traditional brush and roller method I generally use. And there was a lot less clearing up too. I used masking tape to protect the areas I didn’t want spray paint to reach and read the instructions carefully; honestly I did. They informed me there was no need to prime, just simply spray and so I did just that. And I twirled the lamp base whilst spraying to get as even a finish as possible, avoiding any paint runs along the way. I knew I wouldn’t be using my usual distressing tactics as I did in this spray paint post, to cover up any little mishaps.

And so, two coats of paint later and with appropriate drying time in between, this up-cycle worked out very well indeed. Quick and easy, just how I like it. If you try an update of a decorative lamp base or something else in your home using this method, do let me know how you get on. I’m wondering if this whole spray paint thing has a future with me. I did this update over six months ago and there is currently no sign of wear and tear and I didn’t use any sealer or protector.

Once painted, the shade less and not so decorative lamp base needed completing. So on my next high street shopping trip I searched a few stores to find something suitable. I was thinking neutral, unobtrusive. You know blending in rather than making a statement. It took a few disappointing shopping trips as nothing seemed to work. Too floppy or formal, too bold or bland, big or small.

I even tried a shade from our bedroom and for a while the candlestick lamp lived in a few dark corners of the home with the purple shade, although I didn’t enjoy it. Firstly shades of purples and lilacs feature in our bedroom and not elsewhere in the home. And secondly I felt there always needed to be something behind this decorative lamp to set it apart from the white walls otherwise the creamy base simply disappeared. Providing a backdrop is ok if you are taking photos for an Instagram shoot however in reality the candlestick lamp wasn’t really going to be that pampered on a daily basis.

And then one day when I was having a peek in Laura Ashley, I found this grey shade in a sale. And I tried it on the base (much to the amusement of the sales assistant: Doesn’t everyone carry a lamp base around with them when they are looking for an appropriate shade?) and it worked. Quite perfectly infact for the look I was after. Now the candlestick lamp had its shade, it took on the just enough to notice and not enough to impose look. A decorative lamp without being overly decorative.

Strangely enough the candlestick lamp sits most of its time these days near a silver edged mirror, which is often dressed with an empty silver gilt wooden frame. Perhaps the original pewter would have worked after all. Who knows. I do know however that for a few pennies and a couple of hours of my time, this candlestick lamp fits in just perfectly now. And that makes this thrifty girl a happy one. Until next week x