A while back I found a small milk-glass lamp ($3.00) at the thrift store and fell in love. What I didn't realize was how difficult it was going to be to find a shade to fit the lamp, one that didn't make it look too old-timey. Sometimes I fear my granny antique-y finds will not have enough modern counterparts to make them look interesting instead of just old or weird. After weeks of looking at the same thrift shop, a shade popped up in it's original packaging, brand new ($.50). I hated the fabric but the shape was good. Today I painted it in gold stripes, here was my process.
Original shade in a beige shiny fabric.
Step 1: Paint the shade white.
Step 2: Tape above the binding with 1 inch wide painter's tape. Then mark every inch after the tape to make the stripe pattern.
Step 3: Tape every other inch.
These are the colors I used.
Step 4: Paint between the rows of tape with gold. Allow paint to dry.
Step 5: Once paint is dry, pull off tape to expose the white stripes underneath, then tape over the gold and touch up with white to ensure straight lines, allow paint to dry.
The end result.
Thoughts: When the lamp is on, every mistake is visible. At first I was disappointed. Then after a while and from a short distance, the shade looked like an old painted canvas re-purposed into a lamp shade. The light is soft and inviting because of the stripes and so for now (or until I come up with something I like better), I'm happy with this project.
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