A Lamp Makeover…Creating Faux Mercury Glass

As you may know I have been bitten by the Mercury Glass Bug. Mercury glass has the abilty to add glitz and glam with vintage appeal to your home. Vintage Mercury glass can be quite expensive. Reproduction mercury glass has been popping up everywhere but even that can be expensive.

I wanted a mercury glass lamp for my livingroom and decided I wanted to try and make one myself, or atleast faux finish one that looked similar to the real thing. I began researching it online figuring SOMEONE must have tried this already. I did find a few different techniques and decided on trying one that consisted of using a spray bottle of water and silver metallic spray paint.

I went to my  favorite local thrift store and found this clear glass lamp for only a few dollars.

As you can see it was full of seashells and I swear I pulled a muscle lugging it over to the checkout counter!

I brought it home and began by dismantling it and removing all the shells. I was left with two BIG bowls of seashells. Living on the coast I am sure I can come up with some ways to use them in future projects.

I layed out the rest of the lamp outside and sprayed the base and hardware with the silver spray paint.

The next step was to lightly mist the INSIDE of the glass with water and then lightly spray (unevenly) the inside with the silver spray paint.  The water droplets keep the paint sticking to the surface of the glass in some places, mimicking the look of mercury glass.

When completely dry I reassembled and rewired the lamp. I added a brand new shade I picked up at a local discount store. So…What do you think of my Faux Mercury Glass Lamp

Faux mercury glass? I am not quite sure about that but I think it came out looking pretty cool!

I was a little disappointed that the paint was not as shiny as the cap on the can had led me to believe. I chalk it up to “Ya live and learn” I read about another technique gals are using with applying silver foil to the surface. I think next time I will have to give that a try.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed your visit!

Happy Monday!

~Lisa

 

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7 Responses

  1. Terri

    Hi Lisa — Girl I appreciate you taking on a lamp — most of us would shy away from just the assembly process much less the glass to paint, etc. Very good job and your lampshade is gorgeous and since it is ornate, you picked the right color paint; probably wouldn’t want too much shine — Terri
    Happy Valentine’s Day

  2. Sandi

    Hi Lisa,
    I think your lamp turned out very well! I love mercury glass and I do have some pieces of it in my home. I haven’t been brave enough to tackle making it myself yet! Thanks for your visit.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

  3. Lynn at Cottage and Creek

    Great job, Lisa. I love mercury glass too and have been considering a hobnail Mercury glass pendant for over my sink but I’m not sure it will give off enough workspace lighting in my kitchen. I love the look though. Your lamp project and the clear instructions was an inspiring post. I’m your linky neighbor at Gina’s Transformation Thursday. I hope you’ll stop by Cottage and Creek for a visit. Happy Saturday!
    ~Lynn

  4. Jamie B

    Your lamp turned out AMAZING! I love it.. it’ so pretty. I can’t believe you paid just a few dollars for it and you came out with this. I hope it’s okay, I’ve featured your gorgeous lamp on my blog.. You can see it here:

    http://frugal-home-design.blogspot.com/2012/02/th

    Thank you so much for sharing this and especially for showing how you did it!

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