The Midas' Touch: Another Thrift Lamp Makeover

As promised I am showing you what I did with this second thrift store lamp. 


This one cost me $5.99. 

I loved shape of this lamp as well and decided not to spray it white like I did with this one but to really glam it up with some silver leaf. I  could of spray painted it silver but want the aged patina that silver leaf can achieve. I remembered that my mom gave me packages of antique silver leaf along with copper and gold. I decided to give it a whirl. How hard can it be? 

Off to Michaels I went and bought some Metal Leaf Adhesive Size, it cost $4.99. If I was more prepared I could of brought in my 40% off coupon and save me a few loonies. You could get the glue in a spray but that was $11.99 and then it would be hard to control where you want the glue to be on your object.

The next step was to spray my lamp black. I wanted the black to show through the silver. I used Rustoleum's Painter's Touch semi-gloss in basic black. 


After I dried the lamp overnight I was ready to cover it in silver leaf.

 Before you start you need to shake the glue.  Using a paint brush I applied the glue to the lamp base being careful not leave puddles and globs of glue.  I chose not to cover the bottom "plate" and the top "neck" of the lamp.The instructions said to wait about 60 minutes until the glue went from white to clear. It only took about 30 minutes. 


The next part was the fun part. You will need a CLEAN soft bristle brush. All my kids wanted to "help". This is the messy part as silver dust is everywhere. You take an individual silver leaf and lay it in the surface. With your brush smooth it out. 


Take another leaf and lay it beside overlapping slightly. You might think to  yourself, "won't you see the edges of the leaf ?" This stuff is amazing, after laying down leaf upon leaf and brushing it out, they all blend together so nicely. If there are patches that need filling just take a small piece of the leaf (they are incredibly thin and easy to break apart) and lay it down. Brush it smooth with your brush. Silver leaf is VERY forgiving. 



Once you have covered the whole object do a final sweep with your brush over the surface. At this point you can spray it with a laquer or varnish to seal it or just leave it alone. I love the whole aged and worn look so I chose not to seal it.


Now I have a fabulous lamp. 

This poor lamp was kicked out of the entrance way though - my husband (who thinks he knows how to decorate) thought it was too visually cluttering. The lamp is now on our bedroom dresser. I bought a drum shade at Walmart and a lamp harp at Home Depot. Not sure about the shade though (that is why the plastic covering is still on), I may find one that is longer in the height to give it a more balance look. What do you think?


~I love the black showing through~ 


Ta-da!

This lamp is going to join the other amazing projects at:

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30 comments

  1. That is awesome! Love it. I have never tried a lamp makeover before - maybe I should!

    Danielle

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  2. I really like it. It looks like you paid ALOT for it! good job.

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  3. I really like how it turned out. Gorgeous.

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  4. Great transformation from a fellow Canuck!!

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  5. What an AWESOME make-over you did here...looks outstanding! Look...you have a new follower...ME! Hope you have a FUN weekend!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  6. Great transformation... I love the silver! Lezlee

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  7. I love it!! I have never silver leafed...but now I may just try!

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  8. Love that idea! Now I will be on the hunt for a new lamp!

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  9. Cool! What a unique shape! The silver leaf really catches the light in an amazing way.

    Thanks for linking up to SNS!

    FJ Donna

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  10. Oohhh I think that is just so chic! Great job.

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  11. Love it ... so modern and fun now. Well done !! Becca

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  12. I adore silver leafing, or any leafing at all--it is so much fun. Beautiful lamps!

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  13. OH I love to leaf things!!!!!! I am getting ready to use foil (larger than leaf) on an entire tables... can't wait! Your lamp looks amazing!

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  14. Wow! I love it. I have wanted to try silver leaf but heard it was difficult to work with. You have given me hope and inspiration!
    Thanks for sharing.
    ~Amy

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  15. Well, you get the award for most chic thing I have seen this week. This is awesome, I can't believe just how great this turned out. I will be trying this. Thanks for the inspiration.

    Cha Cha

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  16. Barbara, that is pretty amazing! I love what you did with the lamp.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  17. I love silver and gold leaf. You're right...it's messy stuff, but amazing how it works. You think it's going to look like a mess, but after buffing it with the brush, it looks great. You did a great job with that dated lamp.

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  18. I love your lamp...isn't it fun to work with leafing?

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  19. Looks great! I've been scared of silver leaf...but your tutorial is reassuring. Good job!

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  20. Your lamp is just awesome! It looks great and you did such a good job on it!

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  21. Wow! I love it and you made it look so easy. Good work!

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  22. L.O.V.E you shiny lamp! Thanks for joining the Power of Paint Party!

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  23. I like the shade!
    I'm feeling inspired to do this to an old lamp I have. It's been spray painted 3 or 4 times, but this would give it a nice face life Thanks!

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  24. I love it!! I was looking at a lamp the other day at TJMaxx very similar to that and it was $40, your lamp looks way better and so much more frugal!

    I like the shade you have on it :)

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  25. I love it! I want to gold leaf the base of my (currently iron and glass) coffee table! This gives me the confidence to go for it!! :) beautiful job!

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  26. OOOOHHH, love it! Classy bling. I am putting this tutorial in my back pocket to try out later. Thanks for sharing.

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  27. Very forgiving indeed! Love the color and the elegant of this lamp, eh.

    Cheers,
    Peny@uniform scrub

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  28. Ooohh, it turned out just divine! Can't wait to give this a try! Genius!

    xoxo,
    Jen

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