I have this vintage lamp that I got at an auction a couple of years ago. It has a new shade, but unfortunately, the shade and the lamp post are just too similar in color. The wood is also starting to yellow and look dingy. 
There it is, just sitting in the corner, looking a little blah.
In the spirit of making everything less beige, I decided to paint it an actual color! I wasn’t sure what color I was going to paint it, but I thought a darker might be fun. I found a couple of lamps for inspiration that ranged from charcoal to light gray.
Step 1:
Choose a paint color. Lately, I’ve been finding myself going to Ace Hardware for paint (and everything else) because it’s small and it’s close to my house. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed and intimidated by the big home improvement stores. All that said, Ace has paint samples for $5 and you can choose any of their colors from Valspar and Clark & Kensignton.
Paint samples are a great idea for a small project like this. I didn’t even use 1/4 of the can for this project!
The color I chose is called Flannel Gray and I gave the lamp base and post 2 coats.
Step 2:
Apply antiquing glaze. After the second coat dried overnight to completely cure, I painted Valpar’s Antiquing Glaze on the lamp. I worked in sections because you have to wipe it off before it dries.
The section on the left is after I painted the glaze on and then wiped off. The section on the right is how it looked once I painted the glaze on and left for a couple of minutes before wiping off.
Step 3:
Wipe glaze off with a cotton rag/towel. Use gloves! This is a messy process!
That’s it! Easy peasy!
Here’s the finished product…
It’s definitely taking me a minute to get used to the new color. I like it, but it is a bit darker than I was thinking it would be. I’m going to live with it for a while and maybe move it around a bit to see where I like it best. What do you guys think??? Yes/No…let me know!
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