True Interiors Design Tips

Lamp Gets a New Look

This was an easy transformation that transformed a second hand lamp from funky to FUNKY! This lamp was $25, I purchased one can of spray primer and one can of red lacquer. I also used painters tape, and steel wool for a little bit of sanding. Then I topped it with a new shade. Total cost for this project was about $50.

My first step was to wipe down the lamp body and remove the shade and harp. I taped up the cord and the bulb socket so it did not get painted.

Next I coated the lamp with a coat of spray primer. Once the first layer dried a sanded it down with steel wool, be sure to wipe off the grit from the wool before giving your lamp a second coat of primer. I ended up having to do a third touch up coat of primer after sanding the lamp body again. With a high gloss finish like red lacquer it is important that you have a smooth surface because imperfections will be obvious in the shiny finish.

Once the lamp was completely dry, sanded, and wiped down I was ready for paint. I gave the lamp three coats of lacquer, waiting for each coat to dry first.

When I was all done and setting the lamp up I noticed that the bottom was open and rough so to keep it from scratching my table surface I added a few felt sticky pads to the bottom. It was important to me to keep the original finial so I found a shade that would allow me to use the original harp to support the finial, which I painted red as well.

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The Nursery Owls on a Budget

This project is two stuffed owls for my sister-in-law’s owl themed nursery. I should start this set of instructions by saying that I have only really been sewing for about six months since I purchased my first sewing machine. So if I can do this you can too!

Here is my inspiration image that I started with.

These little guys are from Pottery Barn and retail for $24 and $29. But we are doing the nursery on a budget and these colors did not coordinate with the teal and chocolate scheme we had working so I decided to make some.

The first thing I did was gathered my fabrics. My key fabric is actually leftovers from a shower curtain that we altered and lined and used as drapes in the room. Then I bought coordinating fabrics. You do not need much for this project, quarter yards is plenty in most cases.

Then I made a quick and easy pattern from a sheet of paper. Be sure to fold it in half for perfect symmetry. It took me a few tries to get the shape I wanted. Then I pinned it to my fabric, traced out a front and back and cut it out with a ½” seam allowance. I am sure there are those who could do this with ¼” seam allowance, but like I said I am a novice at sewing.

One of my fabrics had this great raw edge that was fringe like so I decided to use it as little tufts on the owl’s head. I cut the shape I needed, created a finished edge where the two fabrics meet at the belly and sewed the two pieces of fabric together around the edge.

The wings took me several tries on paper to get the right shape. I strongly recommend using paper patterns first. To add a little something extra I inserted crinkly tissue paper in the wings before sealing them up. When I made the feet I filled them with popcorn kernels for a fun texture. If you are going to try this make sure it is sewn tight so no kernels can escape.

The eyes and beak were tricky to apply and in the end I just used fabric glue and reinforced it with a little hand stitching and it worked great.

Then I just put the two faces together and sewed him up leaving a small space to insert stuffing. I included dried lavender in the fill to create a relaxing smell when the owls are being loved on. Then I hand stitched the seam closed and Voila!