Rainbow Watercolour DIY Lamp Makeover

Updating Old Table Lamps For A Kids Room

Hello friends! Welcome to another Less Is More thrift flip project! For this month I did a DIY lamp makeover on a set of lamps and lampshades to better fit in with a kid’s bedroom. This is the collaboration series with some of my creative designer friends where we use thrifted, repurposed and dollar store products to create new decor. Please check out their projects at the end of this post.

Table Lamp Makeover

I’ve had these lamps sitting in the house for a while now, with good intentions of refinishing them. So now is the perfect time to actually finish them. They work great, and I got them for free. They work great, but they don’t fit in with my home decor style. I’m going to change that and show you how easy it is to update your lamps instead of replacing them.

I had been planning on getting new lamp shades for these table lamps, but since it’s difficult to run out to a store to grab supplies right now (thanks Corona) I decided to work with the current lampshades and give them an update too. And I’m so glad I did because the lampshades changed everything about the look! This is a very different idea from my last lamp flip.

Supplies for DIY Lamp Makeover:

Table Lamp(s)

Plastic Grocery Bags

Painters Tape

Rustoleum Chalk Spray Paint

400 Grit Sandpaper

Acrylic Paint Set

Acrylic Paint Brushes

Sand and Clean

You’re going to start off your project by giving your lamp base a light sanding. First, take off the lampshade. It’s so much easier to work on the lamp without the shade in the way. You’ll want to start by using a high grit sandpaper and go over the whole lamp lightly. This is going to take off the glossy finish and rough it up enough for the paint to adhere better. This will make your paint last longer.

Next you’ll need to go back over the lamp base and wipe it clean with a damp cloth. This will take all the dust and film off your lamp from sanding it. And you won’t end up with bumps from dirt stuck in your paint.

Wrap It Up

You’re going to want to make sure you really protect the areas that you don’t want painted. For me, this was the cord, the socket and the harp (the metal frame that the lampshade sits over).

I wrapped painters tape around the cord halfway down. I only went this far as the rest of the cord would be outside of the box I was using to paint the lamp in. You could cover the whole cord though.

I then placed a plastic bag over the harp and taped it securely around the socket. Mae sure your tape is covered all the way down to where you want your spray paint to start covering. And double-check that your tape is secure without any gaps.

Start Spraying

I placed my lamps inside a large box with the top folded down so that I could spray paint the lamp without getting paint overspray elsewhere. I once painted my front lamp a nice blue patch from overspray. And I had to wait until the grass grew out long enough to get the paint all cut off. Use protection.

Follow the directions on your paint can for mixing, spraying, and drying times. I found I needed to do 3 light coats of spray paint to cover up most of the lamp. The floral motif needed a fourth coat to hide it.

By taking your time and doing light coats, you’ll save yourself from drips and an unevensurface.

Paint The Shade

This part was so relaxing. I used red, yellow, green, blue, and purple acrylic paint for my “watercolour” lampshade. The reason I used acrylic instead of actualy watercolour paints is because acrylics have a more vibrant pigment. When the lamp is turned on, the colours get washed out. If I used watercolours, then I was worried the colours would appear too washed out and lose the rainbow effect.

The paints will be really watered down to give it that wet, watercolour look. I barely dipped my paintbrush into the acrylic paint, picking up minimal paint. Then I would mix it in a tray with water to add colour to the water.

Working with one colour at a time, add horizontal brushstrokes of colour randomly all over the lampshade. Once you run out of one colour, move on to the next colour.

Eventually, as the spaces start to fill in, you’ll start overlapping the brushstrokes some and really filling in the gaps. Just keep going over and over the lampshade until you are happy with the number of brushstrokes.

Reassemble the Lamp Fixture

Once each part of the lamp is dry, start taking the painter’s tape and plastic bags off. Put your Lamp back together and test it out.

I love the rainbow look of the new lampshade! It’s perfect for a kids room or a tween! In fact, these may just end up in the guest bedroom as they are so cool.

Painting Old Table Lamps and Other Thrifty Projects

Thanks for checking out my diy table lamp makeover! Make sure to check out my fellow bloggers Less Is More projects below too! They are all amazing!

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