Lamp lovin

We love our little apartment. Really, we do. Buuut (picture me covering it's tiny little ears), it has it's flaws--not the least of which is the fact that there is no lighting in the living area.

Fortunately we managed to pick up not one but two floor lamps along the way. Here they are in all their glory (lamp shades removed because I forgot to take a decent "before" picture... and let's just pretend that room is clean, shall we?):

The navy lamp was picked up from a donation tent at our alma mater (Point Loma Nazarene University, woot!) at the end of the school year. The silver was given to me by a department at PLNU that was renovating. Needless to say, they were mismatched and very... um... loved.

I'd heard a lot about the magical powers of Oil-Rubbed Bronze spray paint (who hasn't?!) and I was super excited to give it a go. So, I picked up a can of Rustoleum ORB (with built in primer--PUMPED).

I removed the shades and wiped down the lamps. I put the cords in a bag and taped up the rest of the cord. I didn't really care if the inside of the top lips were painted or not, since the shades would conceal it, but I did want to protect all that engineering schtuff in there (can you tell I'm an expert?), so I taped that off.

4ish thin and semi-even coats (I'm lazy and impatient, have you noticed?) and a few hours later, my poor sad lamps were happy and young and carefree again!

Lemme tell you... oil-rubbed bronze is exactly what it's cracked up to be. I may have done a little dance before bringing them back inside. I had always heard it described as a sort of semi-shiny black, but it looks more like a really really dark brown with a teensy bit of sparkle.

Notes to myself for next time:

• This stuff SMELLS. Buy a mask. Maybe buy extras for the neighbors.
• If you're not wearing shoes (which, let's be honest, I'm not unless I have to be), make sure to wear socks that can be ruined... and be ready to stick. to. everything.
• Shake that spray paint can well! And often! And for long periods of time! The stories of goopy, drippy paint are true... and avoidable.
• One can baaarely covered both lamps. Buy more than you think you need--if you don't use it all you have an excuse to start a new project. ;)

Not bad for a couple of free lamps, eh? Is it any wonder I have "So This is Love" stuck in my head?