WFMW: Spray Paint

One of the things that shocked me when we bought this house was how expensive lamps can be. We had always lived in apartments with ample overhead lighting. When we moved into this house (with its 6 overhead lights, two in the bathrooms, two in the hallways, one in the kitchen, and one in the dining room), we had to buy a bunch of lamps.

I'm fortunate that I don't like super-ornate lamps (or anything for that matter - I like things simple and masculine, mission style, etc.), but even the plain ones cost a fortune. I didn't want those college-dorm torchieres, either. What's a girl to do?

Here's what I did. I hit up the family (and local garage sales) for lamps with good shapes. I got two avocado green lamps from Aunt Juile, and two mauve ones from Mom. I got two off-white ones at a garage sale. Then I hit the spray paint aisle of Wally World.

It took me longer to buy the spray paint than it did to paint the lamps. When Julie came down to visit, she didn't even recognize her lamps (and I could totally tell that she wouldn't have given them to me if she'd thought of painting them, first!). I just finished the mauve ones to go in our new chocolate brown and blue bedroom. I think they're going to look fabulous. New shades help, too.

So there's my tip (that I can share, now that I have enough lamps!!) - get cheap or free lamps, spray paint them, buy new shades, and save hundreds of dollars.

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Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon!

Visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW tips!