DIY: Pottery Barn Lookalike Nightstand Lamps

It's no secret that I looooove Pottery Barn!

The classic styles, always with a little twist; the prints and patterns, both subtle and bold; and the colors, oh how I love the colors, from timeless neutrals to bold trends, PB never disappoints.

That being said, PB doesn't often fall into my budget for small decor items that I don't want to "invest" in. I have gotten some amazing sale finds - usually by stalking items for months until they finally get marked down.

Like this light fixture:

From the moment I saw it, I knew it would be perfect for our entryway but it was waaaay out of budget for a small fixture. So I waited. and waited... and waited.

{are you sensing a theme here?} And then I got lucky! Marked down to final sale at a fraction of what it started at, I drove an hour each way to pick this bad boy up at the only store in the area to have one. {after checking to make sure it didn't have any cracks, I drove home like a granny praying it would make it home in one piece!} I absolutely love how this piece looks in my home. It also reinforces my instinct to wait for the things that really catch my eye because more often than not I luck out in a big way. Anyways, I digress... Naturally, my 'pinspiration' for this lamp diy came from an older style of PB lamp that I love.

{these beauties (no longer available on the PB website) were $300 EACH...WITHOUT the shade! is this real life? i definitely cannot afford that...#champagnetastebeerbudget strikes again!} So I figured, why buy? DIY! Like anyone who's into thrifting knows, you have to peruse your favorite stores early and often for the great finds. Most of the time I leave empty handed. Since I've been doing this for a little while, I have a good idea of quality, condition and amount I'm willing to pay for any given item. Only every once in a while do I find that diamond in the rough or the exact item meets all the specifications in my mind. {or i'll tell myself i'm looking for nightstands and then I'll find the dresser of my diy dreams. basically i play mind games with myself. no, really. that happened. the dresser is midway through its' facelift...so stay tuned!} So there the set of lamps were, at the Goodwill I like to frequent, just sitting atop a cabinet looking very...red.

{Before: here they are in my garage atop other thrift finds, patiently waiting their turn}

{even though we've been down enough tangents for one post...here's that same buffet today!} Back to the lamps! Upon closer inspection, I quickly realized why they'd been abandoned. They're milkglass and despite being the same style and lot number, one was much darker and more opaque than the other making them more of a 'miss' than a match. {don't even get me started on the shades. just...yikes!} Someone else's loss was definitely my gain because, y'all, these lamps are PB lamps to begin with...and even better than that, they still had their tags on!

These (originally) $90 guys came home with me for the grand total of $5 each!!!

{they were basically giving them away...brand freakin' new!}

I chose this spray paint from Lowe's:

I removed the bulb, wrapped a disposable glove around the lightbulb socket and harp and taped it off. The glove was thick enough that it wouldn't tear but thin enough to allow the finial to screw back on top of the glove. I did the same thing with the cord.