STYLING AND TEXT BY Kris Antonino PHOTOGRAPHY BY Lisa Shires
Don’t throw away that old lamp! It turns out, rewiring is simple. Refurbished furniture and accessories are not only good for the planet – and your pocketbook –they can customize your décor and become great conversation pieces. Thanks to our instructors, Robin Holliday, Carey Buckner and Steve Kendall, for their step by step tutorials.
DISTRESS FOR SUCCESS
Tutorial and products from Carey Buckner, owner of Vintage Blue LLC, Highland, vintageblue-homedecor.com
You will need:
- CeCe Caldwell’s Chalk and Clay Paint
- a soft brush (such as Purdy 2-inch cub brush)
- wet rag
- CeCe Caldwell’s Clear Wax
To Paint
1. Clean and dry your item.
2. Shake paint can vigorously for 1-2 minutes.
3. Apply a coat of paint with brush strokes in the direction of the wood grain. Be sure not to apply too thickly to avoid drips.
5. Allow the paint to dry completely.
6. Apply a second coat as needed. (Not all colors will require a second coat.)
7. Once paint is dry, wet distress with a wet washcloth. This step removes paint in certain areas to reveal the wood underneath, giving the piece an aged and distressed appearance. Wipe down the areas where the paint would naturally start to chip off (corners and edges). Do as little or as much distressing as you want.
To Wax
1. Once the piece has dried from the wet distress process, use CeCe Caldwell’s Clear Wax to protect the finish. Use a round, flat wax brush to apply wax sparingly and work in sections.
2. Once you have an even, thin coat of wax over a small section, use a dry, lint-free rag to wipe off excess wax and then repeat on the next small section. Continue until all painted areas have been waxed.
3. Allow wax to dry for 1-2 hours and buff with a dry, lint-free cloth to make it shine.
4. Let wax cure for about 30 days before subjecting furniture to heavy use.
LIGHT HOUSEKEEPING
Tutorial by Robin Holliday, Artist & Owner of HorseSpirit Arts LLC, Ellicott City, horsespiritarts.com
If your light fixture needs a quick clean, make it shine with a simple solution of one part rubbing alcohol to three parts water, gently sprayed onto glass and crystal ornaments and then wiped with a soft cloth. Freshen up a candelabra style fixture by replacing the cylindrical socket covers, available at most home stores.
If a more extensive facelift is needed, consider embellishing.
To Embellish
1. Turn off electrical power (be safe).
2. Remove all ornaments and clean chandelier (as described above).
3. Consider replacing the ornaments with crystal prisms, which will refract sunlight so rainbows will dance in your room. (Maybe you bought prisms on a vacation or found some in your grandmother’s attic.)
4. Create your own pattern of crystal prisms. Swarovski and the less costly As Four crystals can be found online; some have hooks for hanging. Follow the process you would for creating beaded jewelry.
ALL WIRED UP
Tutorial and products from Steve Kendall, Steve Kendall Hardware, Clarksville, kendallhardware.com
To rewire a lamp or just to replace a lamp socket that has gone bad.
You will need:
- lamp socket
- wire
- lamp harp (for shade you have chosen)
- wire nuts
- light bulb
- wire strippers
To Rewire or Replace
1. Create slack in the wire leading up to the socket so there is extra wire to connect to new terminals. If the lamp has a felt bottom, cut and pull back gently so you can re-attach it.
2. Expose about 2 inches of wire by inserting a small screwdriver at the base of the socket to pop it apart.
3. Disconnect the wires from the socket screws.
4. Pull the wire through tubing from the bottom of the lamp and discard it. If you are just replacing the socket, leave the wire in place. Feed new wire up through the tubing and expose 2 to 3 inches of wire at the top of the lamp.
5. Most lamps are two wire connections; attach the two wires to the side terminals of the new socket.
6. Pull excess wire down from the base and reseat the two halves of the socket together with a snap. The
socket should feel tight and secure.
7. Screw in a new light bulb and test for function.
8. Re-install the lamp harp and shade.
