We acquired a pair of bedside lamps about 5 years ago from some friends who were decluttering. We were about to sell our first house and needed some more substantial looking furniture to stage our house. They didn't have lampshades so I borrowed some from my mother-in-law while we had the house on the market. They worked great, but always lacked a bit of our style.
A year later I bought modern lampshades and it helped them seem more appropriate in our room, but I don't think my husband ever liked how stark white they were.
So, I finally just did what I had to do- spray painted them with a can of Rustoleum oil rubbed bronze metallic spray paint.
First I cleaned and prepped them for painting. I covered the knob, cords, and electrical source with tin foil. So easy! I used a few small pieces of painters tape to keep the foil tight to the cord right next to where it attached to the lamp base.
Then, I shook my can of paint and went to town. Super easy, instant gratification. The hardest part was not getting spray paint all over my garage- this stuff can spray far! Also, I had to make sure to look up from the bottom. It's easy to not notice that the curves and ledges didn't get any paint on their underside.
This project took less than a half hour, cost me a few bucks, and totally changed the look of the lamps.
They still don't look modern- but they do look a bit more sophisticated and appropriate for a bedroom.
