Entry Room Re-Do, Part 3

Well, the entry room is really coming along. I’ve lost almost a month of project time because I’ve just had so much going on and we’ve been enjoying the summer. Well, for the next 2 weekends I will be home so I really hope to accomplish quite a bit in the next 2 weeks. I got a head start on it last week though. We have an annual 4th of July bash at our house every year so I did a few things and finished up a couple of things to make my entry more inviting for the guests. It is still not complete but it’s getting better!

So, the next project I want to share with you is a lamp re-do. I started this with a lamp I bought at Goodwill for $3.50. I really thought I took a picture of it when I bought it but apparently I didn’t. Dang it! I swear from now on I will take tons of before pictures. But this time once again you will have to use a little imagination. The lamp was painted in an Indian Southwest design with a pueblo and an Indian woman on it. Definitely not my style at all. But I really loved the shape of it so I got it with plans to change it with paint.

The first step was to tape off the light fixture and the cord. Then I spray painted the entire thing with Primer

I let that dry completely (overnight). Next I painted the base of the lamp with the color I wanted it to end up…Heirloom White from Rustoleum Painter’s Touch. By far my favorite paint lately.

My plan is to have the bottom be a contrasting color from the rest of the lamp. After I let the white dry, I taped off the bottom of the lamp using painters tape. Turns out I don’t think I let the white dry long enough. When I peeled off the tape later, some of the brown wood color was showing through where the paint came off with the tape. I actually like how it looks though so I’m not going to fix it.

So, after taping off the bottom I painted the rest of the lamp with the color I wanted…

A HOT Turquoise blue! This is the accent color I’m putting in the entry. It looks amazing with the gold, burgundy, and white. I painted the lamp with 2 coats of the turquoise paint and then let it dry. In retrospect I should have removed the tape from the bottom immediately after painting if I wanted to keep it pristine. Oh well, I still like the outcome…

Tada! It is done and I love it. I used the shade that I bought at Ikea last year. I’ve been struggling with this stupid shade since last year because it just wouldn’t work for any known lamp! I have no idea what this shade was supposed to be used for but I had to do some creative engineering to make it work. Oh well, work it did! So, the lamp is finished!

While I was doing the lamp I did another project as well. I made my own display stacking trays. I started with this: 2 glass plates and 2 glass candle sticks bought at the Thrift store for 50 cents each.

The first step I did was to glue it all together. I used E6000 glue and just eyed it for “centerness”. I glued one candle stick to the bottom of each plate. I put them upside down and set a paint of can on each to weigh it down. Then I let them dry.

Next, I put the 2 pieces together by glueing the bottom of the candle stick on the smaller plate to the top of the center of the larger plate. I weighed it down again with the paint can and let it dry.

Now, it’s time to paint. Although, you could just call it done at this point. My husband actually preferred it when it was just the glass but I wanted it a color to coordinate with the entry. So, step one for painting glass is to first spray it with frosted glass spray. This will create a textured surface so the paint has something to cling to.

I had the frosted glass spray in my stash of tools so I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t have to buy it. I have no idea how old this stuff was but it worked perfectly!

I allowed the frosted glass spray to dry and then painted the entire thing with primer first. I’ve finally learned after 49 years that it’s just best to go ahead and prime things before you paint them. I may be a slow learner…but I can be taught!

Once the primer dried, I painted the entire thing once again with the Heirloom White. I painted it right side up first, let it dry for awhile, then flipped it upside down and painted it again from that direction. This allowed me to get to all the hard to reach places.

The final outcome…

So, with both projects now done I started to play with the arrangement. Both items are going on an antique table I have sitting in my entry between 2 chairs. It is actually a drop leaf table but the drops don’t really work all that well so I just use the table as a side table really. I started with adding some balls to the display trays.

Um…ok…it looks alright but just not quite right. Next I experimented with putting something else on the top tray but leaving the balls on the bottom.

Ah, yes…I like this much better. Now to put it all together!

I used a small frame I got at the Salvation Army to “even” things out. Actually it’s really “odding” things out. You know that design rule right, things should be done in odd numbers because they are more pleasing to the eye. So, my table is complete and I’m digging it. Here is a sneak preview of the entire gallery wall now with the table and chairs in front of it. I know, I know…the chairs are just horrible, but they are a future project I promise! I want to get them recovered or to actually try my hand at re-upholstery. But, that will come later. In the meantime, I’m really liking how it’s coming along. Oh, you also are getting a sneak preview of the china cabinet which is currently undergoing a makeover too. (I hope to finish it this weekend so I’ll hopefully have a full post dedicated to it next week)

Now to break down the costs. The cost of the lamp was $3.50. The cost of the plates and candle sticks was $2.00. The cost of the mini frame was $2.00 (kinda pricey actually for a used frame but it was from Pier One and it looks brand new and it matches the décor in the room!). The cost of the primer and paint was about $9.00 (1 can of primer, 1 can of Heirloom White, 1 can of turquoise). The cost of the frosted glass spray was free! (if I needed to buy it though it still had the price tag from Hobby Lobby on it and it was $4.99). I already had the flower arrangement, vase, and cross. So total cost of the table redo was $16.50 and I love it!

What do you think? My sister wasn’t so jazzed about the turquoise color in the room but I actually love the unexpected splash of a different color. I think it just gives the room the added pop it needed.

There is so much more to come…I’m not nearly done with the gallery wall, not by a long shot!