I’ve had this little night light/lamp for more years than I care to admit to.  I love this little lamp.  It’s perfect for the corner of the dining area & sheds enough light at night to guide our steps for that late night glass of water or fridge raid.  But it’s seen better days.  The base & shade have aged to the point where it doesn’t look so good anymore.  I really love this little light, and I guess I could have replaced it, but I know I’ll never find another one, so I had to save it.  It needed an overhaul.

And this is how I did it:

The little lamp base had started to turn a beige color & the lamp shade had started to yellow.

Off white, almond & beige just doesn’t go in our home.  I’m not a fan of browns in any form… well, maybe champagne or golds, but not beige.  I had enough of that in the 80s.

This was the base of the little night light.  (It’s plastic)

As you can see, it not only turned an off white color, but had a scratch on it. And even the wires have yellowed.  ugh

I had tried a new lamp shade, but the smallest one that I could find was just too big for the little light.  It really over powered the little light.

So, I scrubbed the base very well to remove any oils & dirt, and got out the Krylon Fusion in white satin.  (I love Krylon paints)

I taped off the neck of the lamp base so I wouldn’t get any paint on it.  Then I  took the little lamp outside and gave it a good coat of the Krylon Fusion Paint.

It’s already looking better, but it needed a second coat.

And yes, before you ask, I did put a light coat on the wire.  The wire is plastic too!

While the base was drying, I went on to the shade.  The little shade is plastic on the inside & fabric on the outside.  I had soaked it in bleach water with some detergent, and it helped a little, but it was still off colored.

So I wracked my brain to try to figure out how to whiten it up.  Then the light bulb went off.  What really whitens something that I have to whiten often?  Like my tennis shoes?  Duh… Kiwi Sport Whitener.  Seriously, shoe whitener.  So, I tried it.

I scrubbed that little shade until it was completely coated with the whitener.  Then I added a second coat after the first one had dried.  It worked!  The little shade was as good as new!

Then I wanted to add a little sparkle to the little lamp.  I chose some beading trim that I found at Joanne Fabrics.  (you know me, I just can’t leave well enough alone)

I measured the inside of the shade, all the way around.  For as tiny as this shade is, I was surprised that it was 17″!

I got out the hot glue gun and started to glue the trim to the inside of the lampshade, one inch at a time.  I didn’t want the glue to dry too soon & if I did it in small amounts at a time, I had a better chance of not burning my fingers from rushing.  (I hate getting burned more than words can say)

I actually had 2″ left over when I was done!

This is a tiny lamp. As you can see, it’s only 8″ tall with the shade.

But it fits in the corner of the dining area so well.

And it does it’s job so well.  There is such a sweet glow that comes from it.  And it provides plenty of light at night time.

A little work, a lot of determination, a lot of love, and the tired little night light has a new life.

Before you throw something out, give it a second look.  Can it be revamped?  Can a coat of spray paint save it?  You might be surprised.  Happy creating everyone!