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Lamp Makeover + Bedroom Sitting Area Update

October 4, 2013 By Erin Spain 8 Comments

Note: Before we get back to “regularly scheduled programming,” I just want to say WOW and thank you so very much for all of your kind and supportive messages, emails and comments in response to my very personal post yesterday. I received so many messages from women who have dealt with infertility or pregnancy loss, or their sister or daughter or loved one has gone through it, and they found my post helpful. That’s exactly what I hoped for, so thank you all for blessing me with your responses. Some of you are going through it right now or very recently and I can’t thank you enough for opening up to me during such a difficult time. You are all amazing and I am thankful for each and every one of my readers.

So, I recently shared my love for all things gold. Well, shortly thereafter I decided to work on a little glam, gold lamp makeover. We scored this pharmacy-style floor lamp on Craigslist for a few bucks several years ago, and while it was fine as it was (silver), we also own another similar one, so I thought I’d have some fun with this one and make it gold.

Silver Pharmacy Lamp

Now, I wish I could tell you that all of my projects always go perfectly smoothly and turn out awesome, but let’s be real. Some of them are epic fails, and this one was headed in that direction.

First, I tried using Rub ‘n Buff in Grecian Gold to transform the lamp. For some reason, the Rub ‘N Buff would not adhere properly to the metal and it ended up splotchy and awful-looking. I don’t know what caused this since I did clean the lamp well before-hand and I’ve used Rub ‘N Buff before with no problems.

Lamp Makeover Fail

The lamp was a hot mess, and unfortunately so were my fingers! Actually, my entire hand was gold by the end of this project.

Gold fingers

To remedy the Rub ‘N Buff problem, I decided to grab a can of spray paint. I used what was supposed to be a metallic gold, but it ended up being very non-metallic and my husband informed me that it looked like honey mustard. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but he was right. (Excuse the grainy cell phone pic.)

Lamp Makeover

Well, I generally don’t love a lamp that looks like you should be dipping a chicken nugget in it, so I knew I had to get rid of the honey mustard color. I went back over it again with Rub ‘N Buff, this time in “Gold Leaf.” This added just the right level of “metallic,” although it may be a little more yellow-gold than I really want it to be. For now, it stays, but I may go with more of a bronze tone in the future.

Lamp Makeover from silver to gold

Here are a few photos of the lamp in it’s new home, our bedroom sitting area.

Bedroom Sitting Area: Navy and Gold Bedroom Makeover

Gold Lamp Makeover

As for the gold frame on the wall (holding a photo of our sweet boys) and the new gold table, they are both from Target. The gold table was actually one of my picks from my recent Virtual Shopping post. I got a couple of Target gift cards for my birthday and put them to good use on those items, as well as a couple other things I’ll show you later.

Gold Side Table: Bedroom Makeover

And since our dog, Indy, loves to practice her best photo-bombing techniques whenever I’m shooting pics of something in the house, I finally gave up on shooing her away and let her live out her lifelong dream of being a dog model.

Bedroom Makeover: sitting area

Navy and gold bedroom sitting area

Check out those poses. She’s a pro.

It’s always frustrating when a project doesn’t go as planned, but this one turned out ok in the end (or at least for now). Have you had any project fails lately? And does your dog aspire to be a model someday too?

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-Erin

Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Home & DIY Blog, Master Bedroom

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Comments

  1. Tyesha | House Made Home says

    October 4, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    I just found an awesome pharmacy lamp that I’m trying to tone down the brassy look and just had the same problem last night with the Grecian Gold! I thought I was the only one since everyone else seems to love the stuff.

    Reply
    • Erin @ DIY on the Cheap says

      October 4, 2013 at 5:35 pm

      So strange! Glad to know that I’m not the only one having issues with it!

      Reply
  2. Elizabeth @ Southern Color says

    October 4, 2013 at 1:59 pm

    The lamp looks great, the perfect shade of gold! Does the Rubb N Buff need to be sealed? I haven’t used that product before, but the results are great.

    Reply
    • Erin @ DIY on the Cheap says

      October 4, 2013 at 5:36 pm

      Thanks Elizabeth! I’ve never sealed it before, but you could probably use a spray sealer on it. I’ve never used it on anything that was going to be handled a ton or anything, but I’ll let you know how it holds up on the lamp without being sealed!

      Reply
  3. Lisa @ Charlie The Cavalier says

    October 6, 2013 at 2:09 am

    what a difference. I might need to switch to gold soon.

    Reply
  4. Laura Kyer says

    October 9, 2013 at 9:05 am

    Your dog looks so much like mine!! What kind is she? I have a Rat Terrier named Marley and he too loves to pose for the camera!! Btw, I love that Target table. I’m going today to see if my Target still has one!!

    Reply
    • Erin @ DIY on the Cheap says

      October 9, 2013 at 11:41 am

      Thanks Laura! Indy is a Rat Terrier too! We love her – she’s so sweet. But she is pretty mischievous sometimes too!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Master Bedroom Makeover Progress {Before & After} - DIY on the Cheap says:
    January 6, 2014 at 11:44 pm

    […] also made over an old lamp, and added a new octagon mirror from […]

    Reply

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