Once I got the Emergency Lamp Call, I put together a collection of floor lamp parts from various pieces in the basement, on a sturdy base. The finishes were incompatible but easily brought into line with a can of white gloss paint and many light coats over the course of the day, which gave it a rich, glossy and even finish.
I stripped down a huge vintage silk shade and recovered the frame. The call was for Big. Here is where it pays to be discerning in your junk; with older lamp shades, the silk shades are the most tattered, as silk tends to split over time while the synthetics are often intact. But the frames for silk shades are meticulously wrapped with a thin ribbon, to allow the shade fabric to be stitched on – and if you are recovering the shade, you can take advantage of this feature.
Sidebar… I tried wrapping a shade frame once with the special ribbon for it, and don’t advise trying this at home!
In a time-savings coincidence, the fabric I used was a funky skirt I bought at a street fair, having found that the times I would ever wear this skirt were exactly Never. I left the gathering elastic at the top, and stitched in a hem at bottom to anchor to the shade frame. Then, I pinned the fabric up tight to the top band, allowing the elastic to set the gathers; otherwise there would be way too much material to sort out. I stitched the skirt to the ribbon-wrapping of the frame. Lastly, I cut off the top of the skirt and finished the shade with glued-on banding to hide the cut edge and stitching.
Best part is the surprise effect when it lights up; by day it’s a graphic contrast, by night the dark and light sheer layers created a soft moiré pattern and beautiful diffused light…
Tags: #DIY, #interiordesign, #lampshade, Lamps