Do you have an old lamp that just doesn’t go with your decor anymore, but it still has good bones? Don’t get rid of it! Instead, why not give it a makoever? I like the style of this lamp, but the brownie frownie colors no longer worked with my decor. Little does this lamp know, that it’s about to get a COMPLETE makeover. Let me show you how I transformed it from boring brown and gave it a BEAUTIFUL French Country Lamp Makeover.
I love all things French Country, Shabby Chic and Kate Spade! So, I decided to combine my love of all three into a fun makeover for this lamp. My inspiration started when I was at Tuesday Morning and I came across the cutest little napkins that instantly reminded me of a Kate Spade bag. They were black and white striped with beautiful shades of pink flowers and they were PERFECT!!
Supply List:
- Old Lamp
- Waverly Chalk Paint in Ivory
- Mod Podge
- Napkins
- Sanding block
- Florals
- Hot Glue
HOW TO GIVE A LAMP A FRENCH COUNTRY MAKEOVER
I started by painting the candlestick part of the lamp with the Waverly chalk paint. Be sure to give your lamp a good cleaning first, so the paint adheres good.
I’m going for a shabby, weathered look so I am not worried about getting a full coverage of paint.
Now, it’s time to bring out these beautiful napkins! These are 2 ply napkins, so you do want to make sure that you separate the napkin turning it into only 1 ply. It makes it easier for the mod podge to stick and helps eliminate any air pockets between the napkin and the lamp.
Next, apply your mod podge directly to the lamp shade. I used regular matte Mod Podge because it’s what I had on hand. There is a Mod Podge specifically made for fabric, but this worked just fine for me.
Working in small sections, apply your napkin right on top of the Mod Podge and smooth it out as best as you can. The napkin may tear a little during this process, so try and use a light hand.
Honestly, I do not mind the tearing and wrinkles because it adds to the shabbiness of the project. It’s all about being perfectly imperfect!
When I got to the edges, I folded them under and mod podged them down. You can cut off any excess if you want. Set it aside to dry. This will take a little bit.
Once the candlestick part was dry, I grabbed my sanding block to distress the edges a bit. This is my FAVORITE part because it just adds all the yummy detail. To me there can never be enough distressing!
Next, I grabbed some white and pink florals to add to the top and finish the look off.
You can see part of the brownish color coming through, but I don’t mind it because I feel it just adds to the weathered, old shabby look. If you don’t want the color to show through then I would recommend you paint the shade before you mod podge.
Here it is finished! What a difference from what is was, right? It’s amazing what the power of paint and some napkins can do. I just love how it looks now! Before it just was blah…. now it’s beautiful!
I hope this project has inspired you to makeover something that you’ve been wanted to tackle!
Here are more makeover ideas for you!!
Happy Creating!
Nikki ❤️