How to Refinish a Metal Lamp to Look Shabby Chic

Metal lamps can be desk or floor sized.

Shabby chic is a design term used to describe a vintage, aged, distressed look. You can refinish furniture to have the shabby chic look by physically distressing the piece yourself. Do to this without harming the lamp, you will cover it with two coats of paint and then partially remove the top coat. This gives the lamp the appearance of being weathered. Top the lamp with a new, vintage-looking shade, and it will look both shabby and chic.

Things You'll Need

• Damp cloth
• Masking tape
• Metal spray paint
• Interior semigloss paint
• 2 inch nylon brush
• Sponge
• New lamp shade

Instructions

1. Remove the lamp shade and bulb. Wipe the metal lamp down with a damp cloth. Cover the light bulb socket with masking tape.

2. Spray the metal lamp with a metal spray paint in your choice of color. This is the base color, so it should be a darker shade than whatever top coat you will be using. Apply the spray paint in long, even strokes, holding the can 8 to 10 inches from the lamp.

3. Let the spray paint dry for 24 hours. Paint over the spray paint with a semigloss interior paint, using a 2-inch nylon paintbrush. Use a shade that is lighter than the base coat.

4. Let the paint dry for about one minute. Rub the lamp lightly with a dry sponge. This will remove small portions of the top coat and reveal the darker paint underneath, giving it the distressed, shabby chic look. Let the lamp dry for 24 hours.

5. Remove the masking tape over the bulb socket. Replace the bulb. Replace the old lamp shade with a vintage-looking shade.

References

• Nudge Home: Refinishing a Chandelier; May 12, 2011

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish