Oh Yeah!: Boring Lamp - Bold Transformation

This is a great project for those of us who like to put our own creative mark on an everyday item. For the guest room (the Door County room) I needed a white lamp to go with the other white items in the room, the bed, the nightstands, the white pillow cases, but I didn't want the lamp to blend into the background, so I gave it a personal touch.

I found some blue iridescent ribbon and some really great fabric covered scrap booking buttons. Both of these items went with the coloring of the room and so I thought it would make a great statement and give the plain white lamp some personality.

It is amazing how handy my architecture tool box has been since I graduated back in 2004. I find that every time I need to get creative it starts with me pulling something out of that box to get going. So I pulled the glue gun and my X-ACTO knife out of the architecture box and began the transformation:

Step 1: Adhere ribbon to white lamp shade
With the iridescent ribbon, I wrapped the shade in an Argyle pattern. Make sure to glue the beginning end of the ribbon first on the interior of the shade. Then, begin wrapping the ribbon from corner to corner to get the argyle look. Finish by gluing the end piece on the inside of the shade where you started.

Step 2: Make small incisions in the shade for the buttons
Since the buttons have a folding metal piece behind them, they are very easy to stick onto the shade. First make sure the make the small incisions with the very sharp X-ACTO knife into the shade and at similar intervals of length. For this lamp, I wanted to make sure that each side had four fabric buttons to make the best impact. After making the incisions, place the buttons into the holes and secure by folding the metal piece on the interior of the shade.

Step 3: Enjoy a creatively personalized lamp with incredible personality!

White lamp with Argyle pattern

Fabric buttons placed evenly onto shade