You don’t need to be a minimalist to live in a small house, you just need a more considered approach about the things you have in it. I love to fill ours with things that are both beautiful and functional, so I thought I’d share my latest upcycling project with you. An added bonus of upcycling is you’ll end up with something that is beautiful, functional, and doesn’t cost the earth!

You will need:

• Wooden lamp base
• Sandpaper (120 & 240 grit)
• Spray paint in a colour of your choice (I used Rust-oleum Painter’s Touch+ Paint & Primer in gloss ‘rose petal’)
• Masking tape
• Ready-made lampshade
• Enough fabric to cover the lampshade
• Scissors
• Double-sided tape
• Lamp wiring kit

Step 1: Preparation

Give your lamp base a good sanding, first with 120 grit paper to get any deeper nicks and scratches out, and then all over with a finer 240 grit paper.

Before sanding:

After sanding:

If you’ve got a detailed lamp base like mine, make sure you get into all the grooves with the sandpaper. This will help your paint stick to the lamp base and give you a nice smooth finish.

Tall lamp bases like this are often made in several parts which screw together – I recommend unscrewing each join a little so you can sand between the parts.

After sanding, wipe down the lamp base with a damp cloth, again making sure to get into all the grooves. Once the lamp base has dried off, you might want to give it a brush with a soft dry brush (I used a clean paintbrush) and then wipe it over with a dry microfiber cloth to get any remaining stubborn dust out of those nooks and crannies.

Step 2: Painting

Now for the fun part! Choose an area that is well ventilated but not too breezy to do your painting –  a garage with the door open is ideal. If you’re worried about getting overspray on the floor, make sure you put down plenty of newspaper or cardboard on the floor before painting.

Use masking tape to cover the screw fitting at the top of the lamp if it has one.

Shake the spray can well and start painting! Don’t hold the can too close to your lamp base when painting, and spray in short bursts to avoid getting the paint on too thickly. It is better to give the lamp base several light coats of paint to avoid runs in the paint. Leave the first coat of paint to dry then give it another 1-3 light coats of paint (with drying time in between coats) to fully cover the lamp base. Remember to get into all those nooks and crannies

After one coat of paint:

Step 3: Cover your lampshade

A ready-made lampshade like this one is obviously perfectly fine to use with your lamp base, but if you want to add a bit more personality they are really easy to re-cover.

First, measure how much fabric you need by wrapping it around the lampshade. Cut your fabric allowing for a few extra centimetres at the top and bottom of the shade and so the short edges overlap when you wrap it around the shade.

On the wrong side of one of the short ends of the fabric, stick a strip of double-sided tape. Before peeling off the tape backing, fold the fabric over the tape and smooth down with your fingers so it makes a nice crisp edge.

Remove the tape backing and stick it down to the fabric. Stick another strip of double-sided tape along the folded edge but don’t remove the backing just yet.

Stick a continuous line of double-sided tape around the inside of the shade at both the top and the bottom of the shade.

On the outside of the shade, stick another four evenly-spaced lines of double-sided tape going vertically from the top to bottom of the shade.

Remove all the backing from the double-sided tape on the shade then carefully position the shade on the fabric – making sure the fabric is the right way up if it has a pattern that needs to go in a specific direction. (For a standing lamp like this, the ring fitting inside the shade goes at the bottom of the shade).

Roll the shade over the fabric making sure it is smooth all the way around, and sticks well to the tape on the outside of the shade. Remove the backing from the double-sided tape on the short edge of the fabric and stick this down so it overlaps the other short edge.

Cut small v-notches in the fabric where the metal struts are on the shade.

Then firmly wrap the fabric around the edge of the shade and stick it to the tape on the inside of the shade. Press down firmly to make sure it is well stuck. Repeat on the other end of the shade.

Step 4: wiring your lamp

I recommend you get someone who knows about electrical stuff to complete this step. There will be a hole in the base of the shade that allows you to thread the electrical cord up through the centre of the lamp from the bottom to the top. Once the cord is pulled through, fit the lamp holder correctly to the top of the lamp base.

Step 5: admire your lamp

The lamp holder will have a fitting that allows the lampshade to be screwed on. Now step back and admire your handiwork!

Costs:

Lamp base $4 (op-shopped)

Ready-made lampshade $15 (on sale at The Warehouse)

Spray paint $11 (Mitre 10)

Suspension light kit $10 (The Warehouse)

Lamp holder $12 (Mitre 10)

Fabric $0 (leftover from a previous project)

Double-sided tape $2 (The Warehouse)