This is one of those things that I’d normally walk right on by at the thrift store. But, not on that day. On that day, I saw past the ugly 1970s wicker and envisioned this light as it could be…
I LOVED the shape of the shade on this wicker light fixture, and the wicker was in great shape – no holes or missing pieces to be found. I didn’t like the addition of a glass globe covering the light bulb. The cord was a little suspect, as it was clearly original, but I bought it anyway.
I wasted no time screwing things up. As I walked my new treasure into the garage, the nut on the bottom of the glass globe gave way and the glass shattered into a thousand pieces on the concrete floor. Well…that solved the “I don’t like the glass globe issue.” Didn’t even have to make a decision there.
But, in the process of breaking the glass, the bulb also broke, leaving the base inside the socket – and, hubby and I found it impossible to remove….so, we broke the socket, too. Another problem solved, another decision made! Now I had to rewire the light and put on a new socket. Something I’d never done, but how hard can it be, right?
Now, on to the fun part – spray paint! I decided on a sunny shade of yellow, thinking it just fit the personality of the light. I disassembled the fixture, and laid out the pieces on an old sheet for painting. Then, after wiping everything clean of dust, I applied a coat of primer.
After allowing the primer to dry, I applied 2 coats (or maybe a bit more) of yellow spray paint, making sure to paint both inside and out, since all of the fixture will be visible when hung from the ceiling.
The paint dried, leaving me with the reassembly of the fixture – complete with new wiring, chain, socket and switch. I bought a socket and a wiring kit at my local hardware store, and followed the directions carefully.
Voila! We have light! I used a globe lightbulb inside, since it will be visible and it looks a bit nicer…
I was tempted to hang this vintage beauty in my front porch / office, because it’s just too cute and would be a great addition…but, I’ve decided to put it up for sale in my shop instead. I think it will make a bright, fun way to light up a drab corner of someone’s home. Maybe I’ll have to find another one to refinish for myself…now that I know what I’m doing. What do you think?
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