About a month ago, my mother gifted me an old lamp that she had had from sometime in the 1980s. I accepted it graciously, figured that I would use it one day or just give it away, and set it against a wall in the living room where it has set since. Tired of looking at it and determined to put some of my DIY Pinterest pinning to good use, I decided that I would keep the lamp and give it a much needed redo. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

One of the great things about Pinterest is the ability to find affordable, easy DIY jobs for just about anything. The lamp redo projects were endless, but the one that caught my eye was the DIY Mercury Glass Lamp from Knock Off Decor. I had seen a similar lamp at T.J.Maxx a couple months back and fell in love. If I could make something similar for a margin of the price, then I was all for it. Also, I really wanted to get my hands on a can of Krylon Looking Glass Mirror Like Paint and play around with it.

Suffice to say, whenever I really want to do something, obstacles will land in my way. First, I went to the Krylon site and found a list of retailers that carry their paints. Michaels was first on the list. Fantastic! I love Michaels and I love any excuse to throw my money at them. Unfortunately, they don’t carry the Looking Glass spray paint anymore. So I grabbed a can of Krylon Premium Chrome for safe measure and a paint stencil and decided to try my luck at another store. And another. And another. Aannndd another. No such luck.

Apparently, no-one in Savannah carries the Krylon Looking Glass paint, not even Sherwin Williams, who owns Krylon. I spent the better part of two hours calling every single vendor in Savannah and Pooler to find a can. The closest was the Hobby Lobby in Statesboro and I just didn’t want the paint enough to drive those 45 minutes for it. So I went with Plan B and decided to put that Krylon Chrome to good use.

I threw some newspapers and plastic across my front porch, taped off the cords and bulb unit, and pulled out a small container of “Adrift” Valspar paint that I had got for free last year. I had been saving it for a special occasion and this seemed like a good enough reason to use it. I had decided to redo the shade, as well, and this color would go nicely with the chrome.

I applied an even coat of the Krylon Chrome all the way around the lamp body, let it dry, and then repeated with a second and third coat, letting it dry for about 30 minutes between each.

As for the shade, I held it from the inside rods and applied an even coat of the Valspar, making sure to check the paint against the natural light so I wouldn’t have any patchy spot. I let it dry for an hour, then reapplied a second coat. After letting it dry for another hour, I taped off the inside seams at the top and bottom and painted the fabric. I then allowed both the lamp base and shade to dry inside overnight. It’s very hot and humid in Savannah in the summers, so I wanted to make sure no moisture set up in the lamp overnight.

Fast-forward 13 hours and I decided to put my paint stencil to good use. I knew that I wanted to put the design on the shade, but wasn’t sure in what color. I kept going back and forth between white and black, but in the end decided that the Krylon Chrome would make an excellent hue. If anything, it would tie the shade to the lamp.

I have to say, taping the stencil on to the shade was a pain the ass. I just couldn’t get it snug enough on the shade and I was afraid that there would be too much “wiggle room” and that the paint would drip. After 20 minutes, I decided to just spray the damn shade and be done with it. So I sprayed two designs on opposite sides of the shade and allowed it to dry for about an hour outside. Sure enough, there was a couple of “drippy” spots and an imperfection here or there, but overall I’m very happy with the way it turned out. For my very first lamp redo, I’m quite pleased with myself. Now that I know the mistakes I made with this one, I can do better on the future lamp projects I have in store. And believe me, there will be more. This could get dangerous. :)

As for the elusive Krylon Looking Glass paint, a wonderful family member is sending me a can and I plan to use it on another lamp soon. So watch for that DIY!