Refashioned Classical Lampshade |Keeping it Real

Monday, September 21, 2015

Refashioned Classical Lampshade

Hi everyone, I'm back with my latest upcycling project, a lampshade this time!

refashioned classical lampshade
Here is the story behind it. 



A long time ago, someone gave my grandparents a stone vase. It was very pretty but also very heavy and instead of just using it for decoration my grandfather transformed it into a lamp. With a twist. He not only added a light bulb on top, but also one inside the vase, which creates a beautiful effect when lit. 

refashioned classical lampshade

When my husband and I got married (eleven years ago next month) my mother gave us the lamp. We bought a side table specifically for it and it sat happily in our living room for several years. Then we had a baby boy and when said boy started moving around I decided it was safer to store the lamp somewhere else, as it was a very heavy and potentially unstable object. Then our daughter was born and we re-started the whole process. All in all, the poor lamp lived inside a closet for the past seven years. 

This summer, when we finished repainting the living room, I finally decided to bring it out again. But the original lampshade was in a bad condition. This is what it looked like before: 

refashioned classical lampshade

The photo, however, doesn't begin to show the extent of the damage. The white fabric was yellowed in places and the once golden trim had turned a wrinkled shade of brown, a combination of 60+ years of age and seven years of storage. 

At first I thought about buying a new lampshade, but when I couldn't find in stores one that matched either the size or the style of the original one, I started toying with the idea of upcycling it. 

refashioned classical lampshade

I went through my stash of fabrics and found a creamy white one and some bits and pieces of the soft orange fabric of our living room curtains. Score! I could "make" a new lampshade perfectly matching the living room decor at zero cost!

refashioned classical lampshade

So, one morning after school stared, I ripped the old fabric from the structure of the lampshade and dedicated myself to patiently creating neat pleats with the white fabric (I didn't take pictures of the process, but each pleat is sewn onto the structure top and bottom). 

refashioned classical lampshade

Then I cut two long strips of the darker fabric (the one leftover from the living room curtains), folded them bias-tape like and glued them over the edges of the lampshade. This creates a neat contrast and hides the stitches securing the pleats. 




refashioned classical lampshade

I love the end result. It looks classical and elegant, but doesn't draw your attention from the beauty of the stone vase, and complements our living room perfectly. 

refashioned classical lampshade

Have a wonderful week,



25 comments:

  1. Such a neat idea! :)

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

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  2. What a beautiful lamp! Love that you kept it in the family & refashioned it. Lampshades can be so expensive & to know that you can create your own with your own style is awesome! Great post! (Coming over from Small Victories Sunday Linkup)

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    1. I've always loved that lamp, and now I guess I love it even more! Thank you for stopping by Tiffani!

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  3. What a great update! It looks fantastic and it's nice that you could keep it in the family! Thanks for sharing on #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup

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  4. What a lovely history your lamp has. You have done it j ustice with the makeover of the lamp shade!

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  5. Yes I too love the way you fixed up the lamp to look so pretty.
    TFS this at Cooking and Crafting with J & J.

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  6. What a great job you did on the lamp shade. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  7. This is a great upcycle. It looks so pretty. I love the lamp, too. What a treasure!

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  8. such a beautiful lamp! what a great idea to make your own shade, this one looks so classy and enhances the lamp. Wonderful job!

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  9. I think this looks lovely. Thank you for linking up.

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  10. Oh my! This looks so incredible! Pinned and tweeted. We love partying with you and we appreciate you stopping by! Please take a minute to stop by next week, so we can pin and tweet your new creation. The party starts on Monday at 7 pm! Have a great Monday! Lou Lou Girls

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  11. Great Job! Thanks for Sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Pinned! Hope you come back tomorrow!!

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