This is a super easy, low cost project to elevate old lamps. All you need is a lamp Plaster of Paris, sand paper, and spray paint. I bought these lamps at my local goodwill for $7.99 each.

Difficulty level: Easy

Supplies: Lamps, Plaster of Paris, Sand paper, Spray Paint.

I desperately wanted these lovely Terra Cotta lamps from pottery Barn in my new house.  They are a great size and I was just dying over the distressed finish and color.  They are $225 without the shade!!   There are a lot of tutorials out there utilizing faux finish techniques.  I went the easiest and cheapest route with these guys.  Check it out.

 I mixed up some plaster of Paris according to the package directions.  Because these have dimension and texter already I knew I wanted to “erase’ the triangle design and maintain some of the banding detail.  I focused the first layer of plaster on evening out the triangles. 

Once dry, I quickly sanded the high areas with my orbital sander.  A piece of sand paper or a sanding block would work great here too. 

Then I added a second layer of plaster and again focused on covering those triangles up!  

Once dry I lightly sanded again and spray painted matte black.

Ugg’s optional

From here you can leave solid black, or to achieve a rustic terra cotta style finish I took some dry Plaster of Paris and rubbed it all over the lamps.

Black Lamp
Lamp finished with dry plaster

Now just find a great shade! I found these solid white drum shades at Target for $20.

Pro Tip-Take a photo of both lamps before your kids come barreling inside and knock one over. It’s a good thing I didn’t but the $225 lamp.

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