tuesday tip: fabric-covered shade

I've had it in my head for a while now that I needed to do something with these boring white pleated shades on my $14 Ikea sconces. I've had these wall lamps for ages, and while I love their function, their style left quite a bit of room for improvement. And white shades, after years of use, can also start to look yellowed and dingy. Not exactly attractive. Or romantic, considering these are in my bedroom.


So the other night I grabbed some fabric samples and fabric glue...


...removed the existing pleated covering off the paper shade, glued the new fabric on, trimmed and glued under the top and bottom rims—and voila!


In just under 30 minutes I had transformed my plain old shade to something so cool and so pretty. If I had any idea how great this would turn out I'd have done it years ago!


 In fact, this project was so easy, it sort of feels like cheating. But hey, I still think you should go for it. This super-easy fabric-covering trick gives new life and coolness to boring old shades. In fact, it's also kinda addictive. I now have the urge to cover every shade I own. Don't say I didn't warn you.

5 comments

Karen said...

You just inspired me. I've been wanting to switch out the shades on my kitchen fixture but never thought about covering them with fabric instead. It would only take a small amount of yardage too.

Arlene Grasman said...

Wow! Great eye girl, you totally blew me away! Thanks for sharing.

Arlene

Fran said...

So awesome! You have the best ideas! I'm so happy I found your blog!!!

Averill said...

Looks fantastic -- I love the fabric! Amazing what a different a new shade can make, yes?

Sixty-Fifth Avenue said...

Loving the fabric you used! I really want to recover my chandelier mini shades but I didn't want to deal with trim. I think I can do this. Any other tips you have to share would be great!
Just found your blog, Hi!
Londen