the lamp would not have been bad if it was left alone. Yeesh! that blue paint did nothing for it!
and the shade definitely was a poor match. but what do you want for $5?
Trends go in cycles, just like seasons and fashions. It was trendy in the 40's and early 50's to paint old furniture, mostly because people in the 40's were coming out of the hungry 30's depression and did not have money for new furniture. So, to create a new look, they painted things. Fortunately, the paint used in those days, was easy to strip off. I did a lot of the stripping of old painted furniture in my youth, uncovering the magnificent wood grains forsaken for a coat of green paint. If the wood is beautiful, such as quarter sawn oak or burled walnut, painting it seems a sacrilege.
And so, today's trend is to paint not only furniture, but everything from crystal chandeliers to sofas made from cloth. Annie Sloan created a paint based on PVA, or white glue, chalk and pigment, offered it in only a few colours, and developed antiquing waxes that instantly created finishes which appear worm. The trouble is that when distressing newly painted items, some painters do not pay attention to where there actually would be marks and the piece ends up looking like a jug saw puzzle with scratches randomly planted. Not so good.
I am also no stranger to painting and unique paint finishes. I have not yet tried the chalk paint that is glue based, but I did buy a little bit of latex with chalk in it, called Reloved, from a local store in our town. It is not a great paint, not much different than a latex paint, and likely could be achieved by throwing in a couple of tablespoons of fine chalk in a litre of paint. It was readily available and I thought I would give it a try.
The lamp came from the local thrift shop. There are actually two. Some one had started to paint them blue, but never finished. The old ceramic lamp without the blue might have been quite acceptable, but the bothced blue paint had to go. I tried to get it off, and without a lot of work, which likely would have affected the under finish, it was not giving up its place. There came the new green chalk latex paint. The lamp shade was definitely not original and not a great choice for the lamp. Something had to be done with it too.
So, I painted them both. This is the first coat of paint. I have not yet decided whether just to dark wax this now, which will be quite nice with all the grooves and deptressions in the lamp, or to use a metallic first over the green and then the dark wax. I will decide tomorrow in the light. The inside and outside of the shade were painted with a very diluted mix of the paint and water and the base was covered with the paint right out of the jar. No special brush was used, but they sell a simple stencil type of brush for $28 as an accessory with the paint if one was so inclined. It was not necessary. See, when the evenings are getting long, there is always a project to do!
And so, today's trend is to paint not only furniture, but everything from crystal chandeliers to sofas made from cloth. Annie Sloan created a paint based on PVA, or white glue, chalk and pigment, offered it in only a few colours, and developed antiquing waxes that instantly created finishes which appear worm. The trouble is that when distressing newly painted items, some painters do not pay attention to where there actually would be marks and the piece ends up looking like a jug saw puzzle with scratches randomly planted. Not so good.
I am also no stranger to painting and unique paint finishes. I have not yet tried the chalk paint that is glue based, but I did buy a little bit of latex with chalk in it, called Reloved, from a local store in our town. It is not a great paint, not much different than a latex paint, and likely could be achieved by throwing in a couple of tablespoons of fine chalk in a litre of paint. It was readily available and I thought I would give it a try.
The lamp came from the local thrift shop. There are actually two. Some one had started to paint them blue, but never finished. The old ceramic lamp without the blue might have been quite acceptable, but the bothced blue paint had to go. I tried to get it off, and without a lot of work, which likely would have affected the under finish, it was not giving up its place. There came the new green chalk latex paint. The lamp shade was definitely not original and not a great choice for the lamp. Something had to be done with it too.
So, I painted them both. This is the first coat of paint. I have not yet decided whether just to dark wax this now, which will be quite nice with all the grooves and deptressions in the lamp, or to use a metallic first over the green and then the dark wax. I will decide tomorrow in the light. The inside and outside of the shade were painted with a very diluted mix of the paint and water and the base was covered with the paint right out of the jar. No special brush was used, but they sell a simple stencil type of brush for $28 as an accessory with the paint if one was so inclined. It was not necessary. See, when the evenings are getting long, there is always a project to do!
So, there was a light whitewash under the warm silver metallic paint to lighten it a bit. I am debated whether to use a dark wax now or leave it as it is.
and darn again, the shade in this light is nowhere what it looks like now, a light sage green inside and out. Better photos in daylight.
I think it has won out without the dark wax over. For now that is. And yes, I know the kitchen is a disaster. I have been sorting two households out and have run out of room to put anything else away. So, until I move back to the other house, it is going to be like this. Sigh.
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