Lamp Revamp: Part 1

So I love and when I say love I mean it. I LOVE taking old things and finding a way to recreate them into something new! DIY is my jam! 

So I thought I'd share one of the more simple DIY projects I've done with all of you! 

I have this lamp, that 15 years ago when I was 10 years old and had a Spice Girls themed birthday party fit right in with that whole teeny bopper trend but which has progressively become more and more hated by me. However, this lamp has such nice lines, that I've never been able to bring myself to toss it! Its like when you see a really attractive guy or girl in really frumpy clothes you know? You just think to yourself, gosh! If only I could dress them! They'd look so hott!

Yes, I am talking about an inanimate object.. and I have a strange sense of humor, haha. 

Anyway, this lamp has been sitting gathering dust and growing greyer every year and I finally decided it was time to conquer the faux fur hideousness!  Below is Part 1 of this project! There will be a Part 2 for the actual recover and finished product. I'm still deciding on which fabric I like best!

I mean come on, look at this thing! It reminds me of that weird commercial about hunger following you around and he a furry little orange creature! Not to mention, it attracts dust like no other!

As you can see, I pulled back on the furry covering and could see that it was only attached around the rim.

Fritz wanted to help but he lacked the opposable thumbs needed so I told him he could watch. (By the way this is the perfect project to do when watching mindless television. At least the demolishing part is. I just sat on the floor in my bedroom with HGTV on while working on this!)

Once I had pulled up about 3 inches, I used my fabric scissors to cut down to the bottom. You can see there is a heavy plastic or vinyl shade beneath that is what actually gives the lamp its structure and stability.

At last! I think it looks 10x's better already! Bye bye faux fur! Bye bye bad 90's reminders! Hello blank canvas!

Next I needed to choose a fabric! I have more fabric that shown here but this was the pile I grabbed. 

I knew I wanted something that could fit into my current decor now but also be interesting enough to hold its own or even be a bold accent in another room down the road. I'm a visual person, so I need to see it before I commit. Using a few hair clips to keep it attached I remounted the shade on its base, turned on the lamp and wrapped each fabric I was considering around it so I could get a better idea of how it would look on the shade, with and without the light on as well as with my current shabby chic decor.

The black and white is growing on me. Its more modern that my normal go to but the pattern would lend itself nicely to fitting in with my things. I really liked the idea of this lovely mustard yellow linen but when I actually put it on, it just wasn't working for me. At least not with this decor. 

The Pink, Navy, Gray fabric I also really like! I think it could work in my space currently but down the road could even more so become a great accent piece when I have more spaces to decorate. The white with pink and silver (it has a slight metallic to it) medallions would definitely go with my space currently, but felt a little blah over all. A little too baby girls room if you know what I mean. I think its because the pattern is smaller so it looks more redundant that the B&W or P,N,G fabrics which are larger bolder patterns. 

Lastly was this blue lacy fabric. Clearly it didn't hit the spot. At least not for me. The only way I could see this working is if it was over another fabric, like a bright pink. But it just didn't work for me even with that concept. I still snapped a few pictures to show how its worth testing out before committing to a fabric. Folded up and in theory I was thinking it could look nice, kind of antique lace meets modern minimalist, and maybe if it were white or off white it would, but in this dusty blue, it just did not work! 

So, thats part 1 of this Lamp Revamp! Since I'm still deciding on the fabric.. tell me what you think! Which of the fabrics seen about would you vote for! Leave me vote in the comments section! Maybe I'll pick the one you like! We'll find out in Part 2!

with grace,
SHE