Lamp Transformation

I wanted nautical lamps. There was a specific lamp I liked, but I figured out quickly that it would be more complicated to accomplish than I had previously thought. In the interest of not ruining a lamp when I have a set of two identical lamps that I wanted to use for our nightstands, I went with a different approach. I decided I wanted to spray paint the lamps and add an anchor stencil to the body.

I got the lamps from Target for $9 each on clearance, and they came with a bonus CFL bulb. No lampshades, though, but I'm still looking for a set of those at a reasonable price. I actually fell in love with some from Target, but they were $20 each, and that's just ridiculous. I don't plan on spending more than $5 each on the lampshades. I saw a matching set at Goodwill for $3, but they weren't quite what I was looking for.

My husband helped with the anchor stencil because my hands aren't super steady due to some medication I take. I can accomplish most tasks with no problem, but detail work with a utility knife is more than I can do. We used paper plates because we had them, and we had no use for buying a package of card stock when we would likely never use it again.

I got the lamps ready with newspaper and painter's tape, and then I started with the bottom stripe, which I wanted to do in navy blue. We already had the can of spray paint from a previous project.

I had to move them into the house while they dried after the second coat because stupid bugs were landing on the spray painted part and ruining the paint job.

I let the paint job dry for 12 hours or so before I took off the tape and newspaper so I could see how it looked.