When I bought these bear lamps this week, I was pretty embarrassed saw lots of potential and knew deep down they could be something special! Some folks scoffed calling them hideous, but these poor little bears had been trapped for who knows how long and they desperately wanted freedom! And I happily obliged.
Now why would I ever pick these guys? Well, I had been on the lookout for a nice pair of matching lamps for my entry way and had been admiring the glass base lamps for a few weeks now! This is kind of what I had in mind....
Gorgeous, right? But each of the above lamps were at the least $110 over my budget and then for two...phhff. Never. So it was off to Goodwill and it was just my luck, they had two matching lamps that I knew I could make work! Funny story...my friend Jill ended up buying an almost matching set but filled with plants and weird moss instead of teddy bears! You can read about her awesome transformation here.
But back to the bears! These guys were just $6 each...
and after pairing them with two $6 lampshades from Target
(plus a little soap, water and silver metallic spray paint)...
I have these...for just $12 each!!!
And with the lights turned down they are even prettier!
Please forgive the complete lack of staging...this area still needs a lot of work :-)
Here's a quick before and after...
And here's the wide shot of my dresser and new lamps!! I am still toying with the idea of repainting this dresser. I'm just not sure if I should go with a bright white (it's currently heirloom white) or a fun color like yellow or aqua! What do you think? Any suggestions??
Oh and I scored this large print and frame at the Habitat re-store marked down to just TWO DOLLARS! TWO DOLLARS! They had a ton that were donated from a Residence Inn that had remodeled. If you're local, there were still a handful left :-)
It needs a little work, but I'm thinking it'll be a nice addition to the wall!
**I'm linking up to Saved by Suzy, The Shabby Nest, House of Hepworth's, Happy Hour Projects, and Fingerprints on the Fridge**
**I'm linking up to Saved by Suzy, The Shabby Nest, House of Hepworth's, Happy Hour Projects, and Fingerprints on the Fridge**
ROFL! Oh those poor bears!!! I feel so bad for them. Who on EARTH thought shoving two stuffed bears into lamps was a good idea to start with?! I'm glad you saw the potential in them though. They look fantastic now with their makeover. The black shades are really snazzy. As for the dresser, I'd actually aim for maybe a soft silver with paintable wallpaper inserts on those two outer bottom cabinets. Keep the black handles and I think it would give this a seriously lovely feel. If you wanted to go bright, I'd aim for aqua instead of the yellow because the lamp shades are large and dark enough that I would be afraid it's look like a giant bumblebee. ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestions! I love the printable wallpaper idea! I remember looking at that for another project and since then I've kind of forgotten about it! And good call on the yellow...although the shades are more of a brown, they definitely photograph darker. And I already have a yellow piece so I'm crossing that off my list of possibilities :-)
Now I'll have to scour pinterest for some silvery inspiration :-)
Thanks for stopping by!
Good eye for the lamp rescue! Thank you for setting the bears free. Did you donate them or keep them? I would paint the dresser black with a waxed finish (slightly distress if you like) and do the hardware in white. However, I have to tell you, I think the dresser looks absolutely spanking fine as you have it right now. That frame would hold a fabulous collage -- personally, I would print out some favorite photographs in black, white, sepia and the occasional all red or bright pink or - whatever - using the settings on my HP printer, cut around the edges then and mish-mash them altogether inside the frame to fit inside the mat. If you have other wood tones in the area for it to tie into, I'd leave the frame as it is, otherwise paint to match or contrast with the dresser.
ReplyDeleteOops! Sorry -- I thought the shades you purchased were black. But you said they're a brown color. Sorry - forget painting the dresser black, LOL! However, unless you really love teal or turquoise with brown color scheme, all the brown/turquoise stuff is showing up in clearance now and at TJMaxx stores, which means it's "passe!" I thought I saw a black cabinet down the hallway (kitchen???) -- that's why I thought a black dresser might be cool, to sort of tie in the two areas together. But perhaps it's not black at all, but some other darker looking color.
ReplyDeleteHi Jan! Yeah down the "hall" is my little kitchen...the cabinets are a dark brown. I think I'm leaning towards eventually redoing in white...nice and classic and won't go out of style!
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Oh my goodness, I don't know whether to say those lamps were horrible or hilarious! I would have been embarrassed to buy them, but I LOVE what you put together, it looks fantastic. Can't wait to see what you end up doing with the frame!
ReplyDeleteFollowing you now ~
Adrianne
www.happyhourprojects.com
Yeah...I'm pretty sure the cashier was secretly questioning my sanity as I placed those on the counter :-)
DeleteThose lamps were hideous! You did a great job on giving them new life. Thanks for linking to my party and I'll be featuring your lamps at the party tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome....thank you, Suzy!!
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