A Thrift Store Lamp Makeover

I picked this lamp up last year at The Salvation Army with plans to change the color.  Yesterday I finally whipped out the paint and picked up a new lamp shade.  There have been thousands of lamp makeovers so I won't bore you with the teeny tiny details, but I will share a little something that helped.  I used a paper plate to make a shield between to brass and porcelain.

Once I had the circle in place I secured it with tape and wrapped the cord and remaining base of the lamp in a plastic grocery bag.

The top was easy enough to tape.

Here are the paints I used.  First I cleaned the lamp well with 409 to ensure that the surface was clean and that the paint would adhere.  I applied one coat of primer and two coats of aqua.

I'm still working on filling the shelves with books.  I ordered a stack of books a couple of weeks ago from Half Price Books.  With books starting at $1 you can really stock up.  The curtains in this room are coming down...again.  The blue is just too much and I really want to go back to a clean natural linen look in here.  I know,  you don't have to say it ;).

I found the square shade at target which I adore!  It has a really nice linen texture and looks even better in person.  The old brass finial was one I had in a drawer and it totally adds the finishing touch.