Look, we DIYers love that spray paint. I’m a huge fan of the flat matte by Valspar, especially their black and white. Yum. But living in an apartment limits the projects I can do. Like, staining a medium to large piece of furniture or dying fabric in a washer. (I share a half-size stacked washer dryer with three other units.) But! There is a way to spray paint on a patio! This is especially helpful if you live in a high-rise or have nowhere else to go.

I’ve had this basic floor lamp for about five years. It’s always been black and I never painted it or tried updating it. I did, however, DIY a metallic gold chevron lampshade for it! (Apparently that post has disappeared?! Just trust me.) I debated whether or not I should set up by the dumpster or invade the little corner lot space by a neighboring unit. Instead, this is how to spray paint in an apartment!

First, collect any newspaper or weekly sales flyers. For some reason, I get, like, six grocery store’s sales every week. I’ve started saving them for painting projects. Tape them all over any surface you don’t want paint flying onto. It was pretty windy the day I did this so I took extra precautions and taped higher than I would’ve normally.

Second, cover your bases! Make sure you put something heavy on the corners, and if they’re separate pieces like mine where, tape them together so they don’t go flying up in the middle of a spray and paint hits the ground.

Before…

After! What wonders a coat of paint does.

I had planned on stripping the skinny barrel shade I had and making a wire mesh shade like this one. But the cost of supplies and all that extra I’d have leftover made me hesitant. Then I came across this one while in Waco a couple weekends ago. It’s perfect! Now, to paint or not to paint.

What do you think? Would you leave it in its raw state? Or pop it with some hot pink or chartreuse paint? (What is WITH me and hot pink paint?) Thanks for letting me share!

 

xx