I love this lamp. That’s the short version — Anchorman reference, anyone? Beyond that, I’m smitten with everything happening in Olivia’s room right now. The makeover is coming together and it’s absolutely adorable.
But before I share more of the room updates, it’s officially Trash to Treasure Tuesday. This time, I rescued a pair of thrifted lamps. If you’re new here, once a month I join a group of bloggers to transform thrifted finds — you can view my past makeovers in the archives.
Olivia needed bedside lamps for reading at night, and I found this pair at the thrift store for $5 each. They were a little grimy and worn, but they had such feminine, Baroque-style details that I knew they were worth saving.
They reminded me of the Baroque lamps I’d seen at RH Baby & Child — but without the steep price tag. With some paint and wax, these thrift finds easily became a designer-inspired pair.
Supplies Used:
- Sample size of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey
- Sample size of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Pure White
- Annie Sloan Clear Wax
- Annie Sloan Dark Wax
- Two round-tipped paint brushes for detail work
- Wax brush
- Paper towels
- Clean, dry cotton rags
- Replacement lamp shades from Walmart
1. I started by painting both lamps with a base coat of Annie Sloan Paris Grey and let them dry completely.
2. After the base coat had dried, I dry brushed the raised details with Pure White. Dry brushing means loading only the tip of the brush with paint, wiping most of it off on a paper towel until the brush feels almost dry, and then lightly dragging the brush across the raised areas so just a hint of white highlights the design.
You can see the difference: the lamp on the right has been dry brushed and the carved details pop compared to the unbrushed lamp on the left.
3. Once I was happy with the white highlights, I applied a thin layer of Annie Sloan Clear Wax over the entire lamp and buffed off the excess with a dry rag to seal and protect the paint.
4. I repeated the waxing process with a small amount of Dark Wax to age the piece slightly. If you want a subtle antique look, apply clear wax first and then a light layer of dark wax; for a much darker finish, skip the clear wax and use dark wax alone.
5. Finally, I reattached the harps and added inexpensive white shades from Walmart. They were finished and ready to brighten Olivia’s bedside.
The result is charming and far more budget-friendly than the designer lamps I had been admiring.
I placed a small butterfly terrarium beside the lamp that I made from a thrifted dome clock in a previous Trash to Treasure project.
Robert and I also decided to give Olivia our nightstands that I painted last year because their feminine details matched her room perfectly — which means we’re now looking for replacements for our bedroom nightstands.
Robert also assembled a canopy bed recently, and we celebrated by building a blanket fort over the weekend — one of Olivia’s favorite activities.
Here’s the room as it looked three weeks ago — we’ve made a lot of progress since then.
We added a cozy rug over the hardwood and installed a beaded semi-flush light fixture that works well with our eight-foot ceilings.
Sources we’ve used so far:
- Wall color: Behr My Sweetheart
- Trim color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
- Door color: Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron
- Wallpaper
- White metal canopy bed
- Roman shades
- Braided wool rug (bought on a major markdown)
- Beaded semi-flush mount light (on sale)
- Quilt (similar)
- DIY faux-gilded nightstands
- DIY butterfly terrarium
Fingers crossed the other side of the room comes together soon — I can’t wait to finish this cozy, girly space.
See the rest of this month’s Trash to Treasure transformations:
Clockwise from top left:
Prodigal Pieces | Confessions of a Serial DIYer | Girl in the Garage | Artsy Chicks Rule
