Description: Suppose you have an old lamp, some free time, and an aptitude for DIY? It’s lamp makeover time, we say! Here, you will find seven ideas about how to transform your outdated lamp into a new and stylish one. Read on to find out!
Giving Your Old Lamps a New Look: 7 Easy Ways

If you need to install a lamp, you can turn to Handy Kith. However, what should you do if you have an outdated lamp that needs a makeover? Who should you turn to? We know the answer: yourself and this article.
What can be more satisfying than to bless old lamps with a new look? You are going to be proud of yourself once it decorates your bedroom or living room. Here are seven inspirational ideas.
Painting, of Course!
What can be easier yet more satisfying than to paint an outdated lamp? Of course, we mean painting a base only. For shades, there are plenty of creative ideas that you will discover later on.
The process is pretty simple:
- Clean a lamp with some rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol.
- Remove the hardware that you don’t want to be painted.
- Paint the base. Remember to deal with drips right away.
- Leave the lamp to dry for 6-12 hours.
Go for Nature
Adding natural patterns to the house is always a good idea. Do you know what is even better? Adding natural objects themselves. First of all, they are cheap; therefore, your lamp makeover won’t cost a fortune. Secondly, they tune a unique atmosphere.
One of the simplest yet unique ideas is to decorate an old base with some woods. You don’t need much – some woods and glue. If you want, you can add a ribbon. All genius is simple.
Beads and Light-Gauge Wire
Beads plus light-gauge wire equals a stylish wire that doesn’t need to be concealed from people’s eyes. Really, just think about it. It’s a common problem for many people. We go and buy lamps because having a bulb on a wire is inappropriate.
Not anymore. You can add a stylish bulb or buy a beautiful bowl shade. And voila: it’s an elegant lamp improvement. No need to spend a lot of money and spend hours choosing and installing a lamp.
Cutlery Isn’t for Eating Only
DIY is about using traditional objects in a non-conventional way. Here, we offer you to find a bigger purpose for cutlery. Spoons, forks, and knives can exchange the shade of your lamp. You don’t need much. Just some cutlery, ribbons, and inspiration, of course.
Play with layers and make the lamp look even more sophisticated and interesting. The new creation will become the center of your kitchen or dining room. If you want, you can paint cutlery.
Utilizing Toys
Do you have grown-up kids and piles of toys that they will never use again? We know what to do. You can use them as a decoration for a base. This will give your old lamps a brand-new look.
Here is what you can do:
- Find old soldiers, cars, tanks, etc. It’s better to focus on small toys so that you can combine a lot together.
- Find a minimalistic old lamp with shade.
- Paint the toys and the lamp in white color and let them dry.
- Use glue to stick toys to the lamp base. You can add more at the bottom and gradually decrease the number of toys as you go up.
Add Some Fabrics
You can always use fabrics to give new life to lamp shades. Openwork cloth, for example, will surely provide a visually interesting effect. It will sparkle around the room with unique patterns. Such a lamp is perfect for bedrooms or balconies.
You can also repurpose old lamp shades. For instance, you can paint them. There is no need to be minimalistic. You can play with colors and add interesting patterns.
A Clean Lamp Is a Happy Lamp
Last but not least – you can merely clean an old lamp. You won’t believe it, but sometimes, they don’t even need a makeover. Just a proper clean up. Remove all the dust and wash a lamp shade. You are likely to need rubbing alcohol when dealing with the base.
Giving a new life to an old lamp is likely to enrich you with inner powers. Even statistics prove this: more than 80% of respondents claim to feel very self-accomplished after they complete a DIY project. Are you in the club?