Call it a compilation of all the crazy projects I've come up with over the years. Call it a how-to for things around the house. Call it whatever you like :) It's what I do everyday. My blog is really just a way for me to share what I've learned over the years about home improvement, interior design, organization, diy, crafting and home repair. And most importantly it comes from always working on a budget and forever wanting to fend for myself when it comes to anything. I hope you enjoy (and learn a few things along the way :)

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

How to recover a lamp shade : )


Or I guess I should call this "How I Recovered My Lamp".  Let's get real, no two lamps are the same and no one can ever have the same supplies.

Here is what I started with (this is with the trim ribbon pulled off and the edge tape pulled off).


Here is the edge tape I took off.  It was still sticky so I decided to try to reuse it, and it worked.


Here is the trim ribbon I took off.  It was still tacky as well and restuck later.


In my case, the original shade was so patterned I had to cover it with something solid before I put the fabric on or you would see the original pattern through the new fabric when the light was turned on.  In my case I happened to have a cut off piece of black out roller shade (when I had them cut to fit at Home Depot I kept the cut off roll for future use, and here was a future use :)  This is not a task light but a decorative or ambient light, so how much light comes through the shade doesn't matter.


If I can stress only one thing about DIY home improvement, it is that you keep all scraps of anything that is salvagable.  You will use it one day and then you'll save yourself a trip or two qne money!

My fabric was a previous shower curtain I purchased in the Ikea "as is" section for 99 cents.  I had used it in my daughters bathroom (as decoration only...they have shower doors).  Once we changed it out, this one went into the fabric bin : )


I started out simply by measuring and cutting the black out fabric and hot gluing that to the two drum shades. This project is much easier than an angled shade because you just roll it straight on and glue as you go.  With an angled shade you will trace the shade only the fabric as you roll it so you get the weird curved shape you need to cut figured out.

For my fabric I measured and cut, but this time I had to "burn" the edges of the fabric because it frayed.  This shower curtain looks and feels like fabric but it primarily plastic or polyester.  I've mentioned this before, but you just use a lighter to quickly "seal" the edges of this type of fabric and it melts it slightly so it won't fray.  I then applied it the same way with hot glue.

I then reapplied the edge tape (stuck back down just fine).


Here is is with all the edge tape back on.

Then I reapplied the edge ribbon.  I only secured the start and finish of each ribbon, as the middle was still tacky.

Reapply the shade and voila!  New, more grown up lamp for free : )





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