Thrifted lamps... yes, please!

A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted some different lamps for our master bedroom, which is still a work-in-progress. Since I had recently bought some from Target, that I'm over now, I knew I couldn't justify buying brand new lamps to my husband (although we are going to use the old lamps in the office). Enter the thrift store. I picked up 2 ceramic lamp bases for less than $12! They both have the same shape- one was green and the other was white.

Notice all of the extra driftwood in the background, haha!

I decided that I wanted the bases to be white and luckily, one already was. So I googled how to paint ceramic and got busy. First I needed to sand it down with fine grit sandpaper- I already had some so I didn't have to buy any, yay! Once it was sanded, I cleaned it and taped off the areas I didn't want painted, like the cord, switch, etc...  Now was time to prime. I sprayed 2 coats of primer, Valspar, allowing it to dry for 20 minutes between coats.

Once it was primed and dry, I sprayed 3 light coats of white in a semi-gloss finish.

It took 3 coats to cover it completely so I'm glad I was patient- I usually try to finish projects as quickly as possible, so it was hard waiting for it to dry between coats. I just found something else to work on though:) Once the color was like I wanted, I sprayed on 2 light coats of a clear gloss. This gave it that shiny, ceramic look because the paint had made it look kinda dull. Now it matched the lamp base that was already white. Mission accomplished!

Now it was time to find lampshades! Here are some that I liked:

Love the pattern on this one but it was too small :(

Too small also...

Like this but the shade was ivory instead of white- boo.

 I finally decided on a white shade. I know, you may be thinking a white lamp with a white shade?!? But it won't limit me to certain colors that I can use for bedding, pillows, rugs, etc... And I'm going to incorporate color with accessories in our bedroom. Here are the newly thrifted lamps with their new shades:

This is the one that was originally green

This is the one that was already white

And here they are together

 I already had one of these lampshades so I just had to buy one more. Got it at Target for around $20. Here is the breakdown for this project:

2 lamp bases: $12
Fine grit sandpaper: already had
Painter's tape: already had
Spray primer: already had
2 cans of white spray paint: $6
Clear gloss spray: $3
2 lampshades: $20 (already had one)

Total cost for 2 lamps: $41


Not bad for 2 ceramic lamps! Our bedroom still has a long way to go but we're off to a pretty good start:)

What do you think?

I've linked up to Shabby Chic Cottage- check out her site for some amazing transformations!