Candlestick Lamp Makeover

This past year could easily be referred to as "the year of the lamp" at our house. Until recently the only lamp I used was an antique floor lamp I'd picked up at an auction several years ago. The year of the lamp started with the purchase of a couple plug-in wall lamps (sconces) from Ikea for twins' bedrooms. Ikea has some awesome, affordable lamps, however most of them aren't available online. (Luckily I have a sister who lives near an Ikea so I'm able to load up when we visit.)

I loved the look and function of Ikea sconces so much I started to look online for something that would work in my bedroom. I had an antique wall lamp stored away but was always reluctant to use it because of the old wiring. Then one day I saw a Pinterest post showing how a simple household extension cord could be used to rewire lighting. It took me longer to walk down stairs and find the wall lamp in my storage room than it did for my husband to put on the new cord. Crazy!

During my search for sconces I discovered the Antique Mercury Glass Table Lamp and the Colette Table Lamp by Pottery Barn and fell head over heals. I watched online and eventually bought the wooden lamp when it went on clearance. After about 10 months of watching and waiting the mercury glass lamp still had not gone on sale:( With my garage sale $$ burning a hole in my pocket, I finally caved one day and settled for free shipping. (I hate paying full price for anything.)

Oh well, sometimes you just have to go for it, ladies. No regrets...I love, love, love all of my lamps!!! My antique floor lamp and both the table lamps have the same burlap tapered drum shade from PB. I like the texture and traditional element the burlap shades bring to our house.

All was good in my word of lighting for several months. Then a couple weeks ago PB released their new fall lighting collection. Curse you PB! Now I have a NEW crush on the Sherwood Stacked Table Lamp.  Oh it's gorgeous! But it comes with a hefty price tag of $200.00 and that's just for the base...no shade included.

I decided to show a little self-control. Then the other day I came across this candlestick lamp at the Goodwill while I was looking for furniture pieces for the blog. It had 'good bones' as they say. The lamp was made of solid wood with a metal base. Hmmm...maybe I could make a PB Sherwood knock-off? The price was right...$3.

I decided to replace the outdated brown cord, brass socket, and harp. I had never rewired a lamp before so I did what every DIYer does...I found a 'how to' tutorial on youtube.  Based on the video I figured out what materials I would need:

new lamp socket                             new 8" harp                             new 8' lamp repair cord
Silver Leaf Rub'n Buff                     Spanish Copper Rub'n Buff
paper towels                                   mineral spirits
frog tape                                         electrical tape
screwdriver                                    crescent wrench                        wire shears
scissors                                          hot glue gun                              piece of felt
old shower curtain to work on

First I cleaned the lamp with soap and water. Then I taped off the portions I didn't want painted and applied the Silver Leaf Rub'n Buff to the lamp. I really wanted to replace the brass base with a waxed wooden base but was too impatient to order one online and wait for it to get here. Instead I coated the brass with a layer of Spanish Copper Rub'n Buff before I topped it with a layer of Silver Leaf Rub'n Buff. I may apply a dark wax to the finished product down the road but for now I'm more than satisfied with the overall patina I achieved with the Rub'n Buff.

My next task was to rewire the lamp. Again, I watched the youtube tutorial a couple times and decided it wasn't rocket science. Basically I dismantled the old socket and harp, and screwed on the new base of the socket. Then I clipped the plug-in end of the cord off leaving enough cord to help thread the new cord through. To do this I simply pulled the two sides of the cord apart and used my wire shears to strip about an inch of coating off. I twisted the exposed electrical wires from the old cord and the new cord together and wrapped them tightly with electrical tape so I could use the old cord to thread the new cording through the lamp. Make sure you wrap the tape tightly. If it's too bulky you won't be able to pull cords through the opening.

Technically you could skip the last step all together if you don't think you'll have a problem threading the new cord through the opening. I wasn't sure so I decided to err on the side of caution and used the old cord to pull the new cord up the tubing.




Then I had to tie my first ever underwriter's knot. This will make sure the wire won't slip out of the terminal screws when one of my kids knocks the lamp over someday;)

Next I determined which side was the ribbed side and which was the smooth side of the split cord. I attached the ribbed side to the silver-colored screw and the smooth conductor to the brass-colored screw by wrapping the wire clock-wise and securing the screws.

Finally I secured the cover of the socket over the base.

 

The final step was to attach a piece of felt to bottom of the base using a hot glue gun. 

Here is a pic of the final product with a burlap drum shade. What do you think? Not bad for a Goodwill purchase, huh? It's going to look great in my bedroom!!!