We've all got those items in the house that are stored away in the attic, the basement or the garage. For some reason you're holding on to them and you don't know why. Maybe you'll do something with that old rocking chair and those old dishes, right? Well if you're cleaning house, why not take another look at some potential gems hidden in your piles of junk?
In my case my hidden gem wasn't hidden at all. It was staring its ugly face at me every day from my bedside table. Out of necessity for a bedside light, the hideous lamp made its way into our bedroom as a temporary solution, but we never got around to replacing it. So when the idea of this Photo Challenge came up, the lamp was on my hit list!
Supplies
• My tired, old lamp
• Spray primer and high gloss black spray paint ($4.99 each at Canadian Tire)
• Masking tape to protect the cord and light socket
• Newspaper
• FANSTA Lampshade ($8 at IKEA)
Steps
• Find a well-ventilated area, preferably outdoors (in this case, my balcony)
• Cover your work area with newspaper and have a few extra sheets of paper on-hand to contain the spray off. Because I was working on my balcony, I had to protect items in close proximity, so the extra paper came in handy
• Prime as per instructions on your primer (because my lamp had so many different surfaces, I felt priming was necessary)
• Spray paint as per instructions on your paint
• Once it's all dry, add the bulb, the shade and enjoy!
Here's how to participate in our Photo Challenge:
• If you've already got an item you've redone, take a picture and send it in. If you are embarking on your project this month, we'd love to see a before and after shot and even some shots of your work along the way
• Email your picture(s) to stylesheet AT hgtv DOT ca and a short description by June 30, 2008
• Alternatively, if you've got a flickr account, you can post your picture(s) and description directly to our Style Sheet photo group
Photo Challenge Giveaway: We've got some great books to give away to some of our lucky participants: Cool Green Stuff by Dave Evans, Ecoholic by Adria Vasil and Envirosax shopping bags.
Looking for some ideas to get you started on the challenge?