Tuesday, January 19, 2016

A Vintage Torchiere Lamp Makeover...

In my quest for the perfect 'junk,' for another set of Anthropologie inspired candlestick holders, 
we came across a broken, Vintage Torchiere Lamp at a thrift store in Mt. Pleasant, UT. It's called Nevins Newly New Thrift Boutique. It occupy's a couple of old buildings hooked together and it's what I refer to as, "A Beautiful Disaster."



You never know what you're going to run into at Neven's, but one thing is for certain - you'll probably meet "Boomer," the resident St. Bernard that roams the building. Don't let him scare you when he sneaks up on you and puts his nose in your hand. He's nearly as big as I am, but gentle as a gentle giant can be. On this visit, we got the pleasure of meeting a couple of German Shepherd's also. All very well behaved and grateful for a little lovin'...

The lady that runs Neven's is a sweet gal. We always enjoy the visit's there. Expect to spend a couple hours nosing around, treasure hunting. The place is cram packed full of anything and everything in between...

On our Saturday visit, I ran into a Vintage Torchiere Lamp much like the one in the next pic. I forgot to take a pic of the one we bought, before we tore all of the electrical components out of it, but the top of it looked just like this...
=(



We payed $20 for the vintage brass lamp with 2 broken arms. I was going to redo it into a candelabra, so the fact it was broken wasn't an issue for me. I love how these old, vintage lamps are made of all metal and have lead weights in the bases to hold them up. They are HEAVY~!

First the 'Man-Child' pulled all of the old electrical components and wires out of the lamp for me and he glued the arms back on with some JB Weld, using some bits of wooden dowel in the center of the arms for support. One of the tridents were missing that hung down from the arms, so I had him saw the other two off to make things even.



 

I have a stash of brass candle stick holders that I pickup for about a buck a piece at local thrift shops and yard sales when I can find them. I picked 3 brass candle stick holders from my stash  that would work for the candelabra arms and a taller brass candlestick holder for the center. I also used a glass candy dish / glass globe I found for the center piece, to hide all of the electrical holes and give some height to glue the center candle stick to...


I spray painted the brass candlestick holder tops with looking glass spray paint, to tone down the yellowish / brass color.


I also sprayed the inside of the glass candy dish with looking glass spray paint to make it look like old mercury glass and to hide the center electrical cord holes...


When everything was repaired, the candlestick holders were glued on and the glue had dried overnight, I took the little beast outside and gave it a good coat of white Zinsser spray primer, to hide all of the scratches and glue marks and cover any unforseen, I might not have seen. 

As I removed the painters tape from the candle stick holder tops, the looking glass spray paint came off - ugh - I had to take them back outside and spray paint them again - - - *sigh* - - -

 
 When the primer was dry, I painted the lamp with a coat of pure white chalk paint made out of flat latex paint mixed with My Savvy Sister Chalk Paint Dust 

~ I LOVE THIS STUFF ~ !


Then, I antiqued it with some Fiddes & Sons Antique Wax and followed that step up with some Fiddes & Sons Clear Wax Polish to subtract some of the antiquing wax and also, give it a good sheen...


Then I glued the glass (candy dish) center globe on and the center candle stick holder...


Of course, I added those cheap emergency candles from the dollar store. I love that they drip. 
I love drippy wax, romantic candles - I'm just a sucker for that kind of look...

 And, I placed the new 'made over' candelabra in our entryway.




This made a stunning looking candelabra, for a $25 investment...



This is a wonderful idea to save an old, broken, vintage, torchiere lamp~!


Linking Up At:
Crafty Allie: Worthwhile Wednesday's
Elizabeth & Company - Be Inspired
My Salvaged Treasures: Talk of The Town
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesday's
Kammy's Korner: Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday
Share Your Cup Thursday's
The Charm of Home

6 comments:

  1. Jen

    Beautiful repurpose! Love it!

    Debby
    Debbygoesshabby.blogspot.com

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  2. It seems like so much work, but your work paid off. Being a perfectionist is worth it because you truly have a beautiful lamp now.

    Thanks for Sharing Your Cup!

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  3. Wow, what a beautiful piece you created! Love the paint job and the addition of the crystals. Thanks for sharing at Talk of the Town.

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  4. Jen, all your hard work paid off. It turned out absolutely gorgeous! I think I need a trip to meet Mt. Pleasant and meet Boomer. :)
    hugs,
    Jann

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  5. Hi Jen, your lamp is amazing. Thank you for sharing on SYC. Jo

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  6. That look fabulous! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!

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Thank you for your comments...
I love to hear from you~!
=)