Have you ever seen a lampshade at Goodwill and completely fallen in love with the shape and style but passed it up because the color wasn’t quite right for your space? Well, did you know you can paint a lampshade?! Yep, and all you need is some acrylic paint! It’s so easy!
Before
My 14-year-old daughter has been wanting a Victorian-style lampshade for her room, and I happened to find one on Facebook Marketplace, lamp and shade for just $25! Score! But while the shade was in good condition, she was really hoping for a fun shade of pink.
Enter some acrylic craft paint and thirty minutes later……..tada!
After
How fun is this?!
My painting method is so easy, and the result is a totally streak freak paint job! In fact, it’s near impossible to tell that the shade has even been painted at all as the fabric looks like it had been dyed. *Obviously, this works best on a fabric shade.
How to:
- You can use any acrylic craft paint. I mixed these three colors to get the warm, pink shade we were after, but any color will work.
- Use a sponge applicator rather than a paintbrush for the best streak-free results.
- Then add water to your paint and stir. You’re going for a nice, soupy mixture – not too thin – not too thick. You want a consistency that will drip. The goal is for the paint to go on more like a solid stain rather than paint.
- One coat is usually all you need unless you’re using a really light paint color. If applying additional coats, just be sure to let each coat dry thoroughly before adding another.
And that’s it for this super simple little project!
It’s kind of hard to tell, but I painted the fringe coral and the shade pink. And I can’t love the result more! This pink vintage lampshade is just so fun and girly!
The pink lampshade is the perfect accessory for her artsy bedroom!
The mural I painted on her wall, which was inspired by the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before Netflix series based on the books by the same name, is still one of my favorite projects I’ve ever done. Painting it pushed me way outside of my comfort zone. And that my girl loves it so much just makes my heart so happy!
Her room is one of the happiest, coziest, most personality-filled spaces in our home!
And y’all, look how there are no streaks on this painted lampshade!!! Say it with me – sponge brush and watered-down acrylic paint – boom!
My girl’s room will hopefully be “finished” soon! Her area rug is finally here, and we’re almost done working on a gallery wall for the wall opposite this mural. Can’t wait to share the final reveal in the coming weeks! It has been so fun to work with her to bring her vision for her room to life!
Thanks for this, i can probably manage it. I have a Pinterest board, called “Crafts I can actually do (?). Also, love the leopard pillows!