Creating Faux Stone Lamps
Love the look (but not the price tag) of a stone or concrete lamp? Then make your own! This DIY project is a great way to upcycle old lamps you might have lying around (or can pick up secondhand). Creating a faux stone lamp is easy, and most likely you will already have most of the supplies you need on hand.
I have had this pair (there are two but I’ve only pictured one) of lamps forever! If I remember correctly, I originally purchased them new in the early 2000s for my first apartment (yes, I know, a long time ago). At that time they had a satin nickel finish. Somewhere along the line, I spray-painted them green to match the living room decor in our first home. They’ve been in our basement for the last few years and I finally decided it was time to dig them out and update them again for our existing space (home decor is always a work in progress for me).
The faux stone look
To create this look, you’ll need at least 2 colors of paint. And the possibilities are endless. You can a traditional natural stone palette keep with that natural stone palette or pick something else entirely (I’ve been dreaming of a light blue coastal look for my next go at this). s had some leftover white paint from another project so I decided that was going to be my base and I wanted a natural stone look.
While the example I use for this project is a lamp, you can easily do this on other decor pieces. Vases, bowls, and even Christmas ornaments. If you’re like me, once you’ve done this, you’ll start eying all sorts of things around your house that you want to update with this look.
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supplies Needed
How to make textured lamps
The biggest decision for this project is what color paints you are going to use. Being a furniture painter, I have lots of leftover paint on hand (and this is a great way to use some of those leftovers up). But if you don’t have anything on hand, get some cheap “oops” paint at a paint store or even smaller bottles of craft paint. As I mentioned already, the colors can be anything you want. I used two colors by Melange Paints that I had on hand: Perfect White for my base color and Saturday White for my accent color.
Step 1: Prepare the surface
The first thing I did was give the existing surface a quick clean. Then I took a sanding pad and scuffed up the surface a bit to make sure my paint adheres well. Similar to furniture painting, preparing your surface by cleaning and scuff sanding gives you improved adhesion and durability.
Step 2: Paint the base layer
The texture will be mixed into the base layer. I have seen other tutorials that use wood filler, plaster, or spackle first. This is definitely an option, but I think it adds an extra step, and I found that adding the texture to the paint works great. To do this, I mixed baking soda into the paint, an approximately 50/50 ratio. Then start painting.
You can stipple as you go or use more traditional brush strokes depending on the texture you want to achieve. I did a little of both. You will probably need to do a few coats to get the coverage and texture that you like. I did two coats on each lamp.
Step 3: Dry brush the accent color
After the base coat and texture have dried, it is time to add the accent color. I did this using a dry brushing technique. Add a small amount of paint to your brush, brush the excess off onto a paper towel, and then lightly brush over the textured surface. Continue to add color until you are happy with the look. And if you overdo it? No problem, just go back to the base color and add that over top again to counteract the accent color. You can go back and forth between colors until you like the outcome!
Step 4: Finishing touches
Once the paint completely dried, I used Mod Podge to seal the lamps. While technically the paint I used doesn’t need a topcoat, I felt sealing them gives them a tougher finish and will keep the baking soda from flaking off over time. I was worried that the Mod Podge might make them too shiny but it didn’t change the sheen at all. Yay!
Summary
And that’s it! A whole new look for these lamps – I’m so excited they have made it out of the basement and back into our home! I’d love to know if you try this project and if so, how it turns out! Be sure to head on over to my Instagram page and tag me there so I can see! Happy crafting!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions. Make sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the latest furniture and DIY projects delivered directly to your inbox!