Let There Be Light: A Planter Refurbished

I have a quick project to share this morning.  This is one that you may recall from this post, on all of my goodies that I picked up on a thrift store shopping spree.  I have a niece who is a Junior about to be Senior in high school.  She is intelligent, beautiful and oh so cool.  Seriously if I ever get my hands on a time machine I am going to hang out with her. 

We recently purchased a day bed for her room to give it more of a den-like feel so she can hang out with her friends.  She needed some light over a dressing table and I was on the lookout for something fresh and funky chic. 

I came across some wire frame lights that I thought would be perfect, but who wants to pay a lot for a look when you can do-it-yourself. 

I stumbled upon this coco mat planter at the Goodwill and knew just exactly what to do with it.  I have never seen one this shape and I knew it would go perfect in her room.  I skipped home humming a frolicking spring tune to transform my find.

I dusted it off and gave it 3-4 coats of a fresh chartreuse color.  I left the chain attached and it made a nice little holder for me to swing the light around while I tried to paint every nook and cranny.

I let the first couple of coats dry and then moved the chain to the bottom to spray the last two coats from another angle.  This was to make sure every surface was painted from ever angle you view the light.

 

Just a quick tip: I use baby oil and dish soap for getting paint off my hands, elbows, hair or any where else I happen to get it when I am painting like a mad woman.  I simply rub the paint off with the baby oil and wash it away with the dish soap.  Every one knows "Dawn takes grease out of you way." That is my boys playing quietly in the back yard while mommy paints. I am so blessed.

Next I attached a light kit through the top.  I used an additional ring on the light kit to hold the basket securely in place. Oddly enough the World Market here closed before the new location was open and I had to order my light kit from Amazon.

 

I turned the ring that came with the kit upside down so that if fit securely against the basket, then reached on the underside and screwed the extra ring in place and hand tightened.  This held the basket securely and gave the light a more finished and less DIY’ed look. 

I tried a few different light bulbs until I found the one that gave me the look I was going for.  I gave her the light over Easter when she came for a visit, but because she lives out of town I don’t have a picture of it in its new home.   I snapped a few shots in my living room because I liked the color against my walls. 

So there you have it, a planter turned light.  Have you transformed a household item into something unexpected? Come back and see what I've got going next.  I am finishing my nephew's room, and I picked up a few more roadside rescues.