Lampshade Makeovers Made Easy

If you're looking for a way to jazz up your home décor but don't want to spend a lot of money, look no further than rejuvenating your lampshades. Lampshades are versatile: They can set the tone of a room, be accent pieces or simply fade into the background. Switching out a neutral color for a vibrant pink or green brings life to a dull space, and adding a fringe or trim can help turn a plain-Jane bedroom into a sexy boudoir.

Buying Lampshades on the Cheap

If you want to totally makeover your lamps, why not start with some fancy new shades? New to you, that is. Buying lamps in a thrift store or at a garage sale can be a little dicey because of wiring issues, but lampshades in these same venues are safe, plentiful and often very cheap. Measure the lamps in your house to make sure your new shades will fit and get ready to give your old lamps the Cadillac of home beauty treatments.

Painting a Lampshade

The easiest way to change a lampshade's style is by painting it. Use non-oil based paint, and let your creativity run wild with patterns, stencils and bold new colors.

Recovering a Lampshade

The most popular materials to recover a lampshade with are cloth and wallpaper. Whichever material you use, you're going to need a pattern and

When your new material is cut to the correct shape, neatly attach its ends together with glue or stitches so the material makes a loop and slip the loop over the lampshade's frame. Fold the loose edges over, glue them down and secure the fabric or paper with clothespins while the glue dries. After the glue is dry, cover the rough edges of the material inside the lamp by gluing ribbon over them. The basic lampshade is now complete, but you can still add a fringe at the bottom, decorative appliqus, beads or whatever other decorations strike your fancy.

The easiest way to change a lampshade's style is by painting it