A lot of people find joy in decorating a living space. Whether it’s to exhibit their individuality or boost their ego, living in a decorated home is a more refined type of living. The years of recycled furniture and tacky posters are far behind, and it’s time to usher in a new era of class and overpriced wall clocks.
Zach has a particular style, and I don’t have enough ammo in my home décor vocabulary to define my own. We also have a small budget, so our apartment has gone a few months with no décor despite our grandiose plans.
Luckily one of my oldest and closest friends recently informed me that decorating on a budget is easier than it sounds.
Mo has had this piece figured out since college.
She’s always had an eye for design and décor, and she has helped me make a thousand decisions through the years. Does this color match this one? What should I do about all of this? and, how did you even do that?
Yes, my inquiries are endless in this department, but that’s why you have these treasured companions. Mo frequents craft stores and causes me to feel incompetent each time I see her latest project. Whether it’s turning wine bottles into lamps or picking the right frames for her wall, she has the eye. The eye I would pay to have to decorate my apartment. Unfortunately I can’t pay to have her or anyone else’s eye at this point in my career as an unpaid intern. I only have my own eyes, God help us.
Some of the advice Mo gave me: visit thrift stores for cheap pieces and keep up with the coupons at certain crafts stores. So this past weekend she and I visited a thrift store to hunt for an inexpensive piece to transform. And that’s exactly what we did, a DIY Table Lamp.
How to transform a thrift store lamp:
Step 1: Visit your local thrift store and pick out a lamp and lampshade. Choose pieces that have a general shape that you like, and you change the rest.
Step 2: Pick a paint color that you love for the base. I chose a cream colored acrylic paint that I had left over from a previous project.
Step 3: Paint the lamp starting from the bottom and working your way up. Paint several thin layers to avoid dripping.
Step 4: Choose your fabric for the lamp shade, and use a pencil to trace the outline of the lamp shade onto your fabric.
Step 5: Cut along the outline, but leave enough room on either side to glue the edges of the fabric to the inside of the lamp shade.
Step 6: Use fabric glue or a hot glue gun to attach your fabric to the lampshade.
Optional Step 7: Add a trim to the top and base of your lamp with fabric glue or a glue gun.
TOTAL: $8
I hope someone else was inspired to get crafting and save some money.
