I love my friend, Debbie. We’ve known each other for over 20 years. She has a great eye for what I call showcase items – items that spark interest or conversation in a room. Her bohemian style boasts a very eclectic array of furnishings. Debbie’s latest showcase item accompanied her from Indianapolis and found it’s way to my dining room table for a glorious transformation. 
She came carrying a lamp that stood almost three feet tall. It had been painted gold and was dripping with several hundred glass beads. She smiled and said, “I’ve got a job for you. I bought this at a yard sale for 3 bucks last Summer. I thought it had good bones. What can you do with it?”
My first instict was to say, “Trash day is tomorrow, let’s set it out with the garbage.” But Debbie was right. It did have good bones and with some vision and labor we could transform this into a showcase item. We decided which room it was going to be displayed in and that set the tone for the make-over. She wanted it to go into the spare bedroom which is done in
light cool gray tones with black and silver accents.
I thought I’d give it a touch of Hollywood Regency Glamour. I dismantelled the entire piece and cleaned it. I believe the previous owners were smokers. It was truly disgusting the amount of dirt that I removed. Next Debbie and I painsakingly removed the wires connecting each of the glass beads and cleanded all the beads. I spray painted the base of the lamp black and let it dry overnight.
The next day we purchased a can of chrome silver spray paint, some extra crystals and new electrical mechanics for the lamp. I spray painted the remaining pieces of the lamp chrome and let them dry. While those were drying I begain the daunting task of rewiring all the glass beads together. buy cialis online Restringing the glass beads took over 3 hours.
I ran new electrical through the lamp and put all the pieces back together. Debbie began a mad dash to find a lampshade on line, but found that everything she liked was out of her budget for this lamp. She and I discussed buying black fabric to overlay the right lampshade once she found it later.
Considering the outdated status of this lamp when it first reached my dining room table, I am pleased to announce that the finished product is worthy of use in her spare bedroom once she finds the right lampshade. This experienced shed new light on an old lamp.