LAMP REVAMP, TABLE TRANSFORMATION, AND A SOFA SNEAK PEEK...

Every chance I have gotten over the last few weeks I have been scoping out flea market finds to furnish and decorate the farmhouse.  I am taking my time with the over all finished effect from room to room but some basic furniture needs were must purchases.  Now that the sofa situation has been settled, I am still on the hunt for side chairs, I set my sights on some end tables and lamps for the living room and bed side lamps for the master bedroom.

I know this is going to sound beyond ridiculous but I did not want to spend a fortune on furniture or lamps and I wished that I could find them all for less than $40.00.  I do so love a good challenge and a girl can wish can't she?  At my first stop I spied these tables...

A little retro-vintage, solid wood, exceptionally sturdy, nice metal detail, even liked that they were black, perhaps with a little alteration they would do nicely, $24.00 for the pair.  Consulted Handy Hubby about the transformation he said it was doable so I loaded them up.

I sailed up one side of the highway and back down again in search of lamps.  I felt like I was in a retro Armor hot dog commercial only for lamps, remember the jingle?   Lamps, I want lamps, what kind of lamps have I seen?  Fat ones, skinny ones, lamps that offer shocks, tall ones, mini ones, even ones with polka dots!  Lamps!  I want lamps, lamps that look just right!  I was hot, tired, thirsty, and ready to call it a day when I was about to pass a place I rarely frequent because I never find anything in there but as one last ditch effort thought I would try anyway. And that is when I met my new bed side lamps...

 They had to convince me to take them home.  Bless their little hearts they were looking a little bordello with all that flashy black and brass business and all those tassels! Not at all boudoir chic.  They twinkled their tag at me and I was convinced, $6.95 for the pair, sold...but no shades.

Back tracking a little I returned to a previous shop where I had seen two brand new still in the plastic ivory burlap covered shades,  $3.29 each, just the right size and fit for my lamp revamp.

Feeling like I was done in for the day I headed for the grocery store and decided not to leave a stone unturned and popped into a neighboring thrift shop.  There I found two little pottery lamps with shades in perfect colors for the living room.  You are never going to believe me but in all honesty and sincerity, they were $1.00 each!  I almost tripped over myself to get them to the checkout counter before the magic price disappeared, surely it was a mistake, but no, it was real!

I came in under my wishing budget at $39.53!  I still need one more lamp, what do you think the chances are of finding one for only .77 cents?  And what did I do with these items?

For the lamp revamp I cleaned all the lamps thoroughly and checked the wiring and sockets to make sure they did not need to be replaced.  (Always do this with a used lamp you don't want old wire that is not up to code or a fire hazard.)  I cleaned the shades for the small lamps and unwrapped the burlap ones.  The pottery lamps were good to use after a simple shine, those other gals...not so much.

First they had to have surgery, a tassel-ectomy...

Then they had to be cleaned and primed...

The finals steps were to give them a fresh coat of soft dove gray paint in a high gloss finish...

Topping them with their new ivory burlap shades ...

Now if I just had night tables to sit them on but that is a post for another day!

For the table transformation I removed the front legs and the hardware, marked the table where I wanted it cut off and turned the cutting on the table saw over to Handy Hubby.  I removed the front skirt of the sawed off piece of table and reattached it to the front, reinstalled the leg hardware and put the legs back on.  After a little filling, sanding, taping off of the metal accents, priming, and painting later I had two small accent tables in perfect scale for the tiny farmhouse living room. (Did I ever mention that I working with a room that is 17 feet long and 12 feet wide?)  I have one more thing to add to these tables and they will be complete but that too will be a post for another day.

Here they are with the pottery lamps ready to go into the room.  I added some super cheap flea market books to give the lamps added height...

I shared in a recent post about the great sofa switch and I thought you might want to see what they actually look like.  We went up to the farm for the weekend and I snapped a pic of each one.  Here is the hand-me-up sofa from my son and daughter-in-law...

The legs make it really look modern and while I like them, they are don't really say farmhouse, so I am thinking this one might get a little sassy burlap skirt, not sure yet.

This is the estate sale find...

Cute with clean lines and the corded fabric is so soft and comfy, definitely says farmhouse.  Don't you just dig my 70's style paneling and vinyl flooring?  Trust me, those will go as soon as time and budget allow!  In case you are wondering no sewing got done on the new pillows this weekend, Handy Hubby and I spent our time junkin', visiting family, and relaxing.
  I'll share our cool finds next post.

Thanks for dropping in to visit and I hope you have a great week!