since we moved into our lovely home in raymond hall we've hid our completely retro/awesome orange lamp in the corner. shadeless, homeless, lonely. i've looked and looked for a shade that would perfectly fit and compliment our thrift store treasure but that didnt cost an arm and a leg. but i had NO luck. we finally got the idea to buy a blank lamp shade (or an ugly one) and cover it with fabric that we pick out, so we can have exactly what we want. sunday october 4th, 2009: operation cover lamp shade: COMPLETE.
this space in our apartment has been seriously lacking. we added the magnetic board (aka: the significant board) to give it a little temporary something. just a spot for anything cool we want to display. the lamp was not originally intended to go there but it just sort of happened that way.
anyway, i found a great shade at target the other day for $5! still wrapped in plastic, in perfect condition. DONE. then roomie shea and i went out today in search for some fabric and it was alot harder of a task than we thought... pairing something with that oh-so-hideous but oh-SO-fabulous lamp color. but we came out on top thats for sure.
next step: doing the actual re-covering of the shade. now if you'd like to make things easier for yourself, purchase a shade with flat edges that you can simply wrap the fabric around. OR if your name is stephanie barber and you only do things the cheaper and (often times) more complicated route, go get yourself a nice clearance shade with slopes, raised edges, and raised trim like this one.
this shape and structure of the shade definitely made things a bit more complicated. and if you think it looks easy, uhhh yeah..... i did too. google instructions? call mom? naaaahh, we decided to just go for it and see what we could do. we wrapped the shade with the fabric in order to ensure we'd cover the whole thing before doing any gluing. we basically just took a hot glue gun to the top and bottom of the inside of the shade, stretching and pulling the fabric in different ways until it laid flat against each side. this took both me, shea, and even randi at one point (thats 6 hands!) to ensure we had the fabric pulled tight enough, leaving no wrinkles, creases, or bulk. even the way i just described it sounds easy, i really wish i could effectively communicate the level of difficulty this project was. again, all because of the stupid (but way cool) shape of the lampshade.
all of that to say, we're pretty pleased with the outcome. the fabric is pulled tightly and laying flat against the shade surface, giving the illusion thats how we bought it. but you my friends, you know the truth! so if you ever stop by our place, please ask us where we bought our sweet lamp and i'll be proud to tell you its (altogether) from 3 different stores, and that you'll never be able to find one just like it. clearly shea and i are happy about that:
oh and i have been told by a few people that some of my recent design jpegs ive tried to post on here have not been showing up on all internet browsers. im trying to figure out what the problem is but if you have any ideas i'd love to hear!all of that to say, we're pretty pleased with the outcome. the fabric is pulled tightly and laying flat against the shade surface, giving the illusion thats how we bought it. but you my friends, you know the truth! so if you ever stop by our place, please ask us where we bought our sweet lamp and i'll be proud to tell you its (altogether) from 3 different stores, and that you'll never be able to find one just like it. clearly shea and i are happy about that:
i really hope you've had a great weekend. and let me know if i can help you in any way, with anything. seriously.
-sb.
1 comment:
i like how you are showing off your brightly painted toesies. miss you. love you.
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