I Love Lamp: Moody Blues

This MCM floor lamp was one of the first items I bought at the Almonte Antique Market with my X-mas gift certificate... and it is the fifth project in my "I Love Lamp" series... I might love lamp too much. This is starting to get obscene!

So, what is wrong with this one? Well for starters, not only is it wicked dirty, it has also been around for a painting project or two - drops of white paint?

The amount of yellow nicotine that came off of this lamp was astounding. Remember that next time you are stuck in the car of a smoker... just sayin'.

You can see the paint, not only on the body, but also speckling the teak and brass base. After a good wipe down, and the use of a spoon, I scraped most of the paint off with little or no effort. I often use something metal (but dull), like a spoon, as it usually does the job without scratching or cutting anything. Oh, and I gave it a quick wipe of tung oil, just to put the warmth back into its base.

As is usual with anything with an old cord, this one was filthy. Again, the Magic Eraser does its... well... 'magic' in short work. Wow, that was a redundant sentence.

Now, it was time to paint. Just like the last lamp I did, I tried out the same grey colour.

FAIL! It didn't work for me. It lacks the dimensionality that the other lamp has, so it requires a deeper colour in order for it to work. So I let it marinate for a few months and finally settled on a moody lagoon hue.

You might recognize the front room with the orange accents. The moody blue is a nice off-set to the accent colour, and blends well with the already existing greys and browns without demanding too much attention.

For some interest, I also added a few boxes: a) a memory box given to me 10 years ago from my friend Nic, b) a cool octopus box, and c) the adorbs monkey (he is riding a trike and wearing a fez, people!!) that Melting Plastic used as a gift box. So freaking cute, I had to keep the box.

I added a shade that we found (it feels like a million years ago) back on this junking trip (incidentally the same trip I got this lamp!). In this photo you can also see the patina on the brass - despite my use of Brasso to clean it.

I also framed this fantastic Dominic Bercier print. This was a bonus item I got when Hubby went to a Mirror Comics event at the Comic Book Shoppe. One of the comics on the table was called 'Ghost King'. The style was very painterly, the pages sepia toned, and imagery beautiful. I needed to buy it.

TANGENT TIME: It is not what I usually go for in comics. For example, I was obsessed with Preacher - a graphic novel about a wayward priest who is trying to track down God - God gets scared, and goes on the lam... Preacher's best friend is a comedic Irish vampire, and his girl is an accidental hit-woman. Oh, and I am totally into Chew too - a cop in a post-chicken world who gets psychic impressions by eating - sometimes even having to eat a dead victim's finger to figure it out. Gross... erm, I mean awesome?

ANYWAY, not only did I manage to get the comic signed by Dominic himself, but the print, too. SCORE!
Mirror Comics rocks!!

I double matted this one. I started with the white mat, but there wasn't enough contrast to make it interesting, so I added a black mat to the interior to break up the white. I like how it ended up.

Have I mentioned how much I love having a mat cutter??

Of course, no project is complete with out a snap-shot of our wee Greyson. This is a neat photo since the quality of the morning light is giving the greyer shades of his coat a blue tinge that matches the muddy blue of the lamp.

More photos of Greyson on Desire to Inspire's Monday Pets on Furniture blog.