Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Micro-projects for the office #1: Ceiling Light Fixture « AfroMartha

In my five-cent tour of my new office, I promised that there were some smaller projects in the works. The first on my list is the lighting. My newly fabulous office deserves more fabulous lighting, dontcha think?

I trolled my favorite thrift store, The Goodwill outlet, for a new-to-me fixture. I didn’t have to troll for long because thrift stores are rife with discarded fixtures. I specifically wanted a chandelier-type pendant light.  While visiting my other favorite store, Habitat For Humanity Restore, I saw what a little spray paint can do for a tired old chandelier, and that inspired this project.

Seriously, support your local Habitat For Humanity Re-Stores and Thrift Stores!

*No, I’m not being paid for this, but should the people in charge of such decisions be listening, I’m down with getting paid!*
I’m such a fan of re-use that these stores are my first stops when I need something. Anyway, within 30 minutes of searching the piles at the Goodwill Outlet, I found this ‘80s relic.

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I’m a child of the 80’s, so naturally I’m a fan of the music, but not the décor or fashion. (Seriously, why are 80’s fashions even allowed to re-visit the light day??)

Anyway, I left the store minus $2.37 (yes!) excited to start my project. I already had everything I needed on hand, so all I had to do was get started

First, I cleaned it up thoroughly, took apart some components, taped up the innards, then primed with a spray primer:

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I decided to to leave outthe round ring thingy, which I suspect may be meant to hold a lampshade.

Then came the topcoat. I went with the Krylon Brushed Metallic Nickel in Satin:

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I know, right?

Here it is, hung up with a little bit of tricking up (you may recognize the beads from my birthday party décor):

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The breakdown:

Light Fixture: $2.37 from Goodwill outlet
Primer: already on hand, approx $3
Paint: already on hand, approx $3

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Go forth and fab up a something that time forgot, y’all, you’ll be so glad you did!

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