Roll With It

While at a yard sale last summer, I came across something unusual. I found a heavy, dense cylinder with a raised pattern consisting of strange, symmetrical shapes and nubbins all over it. It had holes on each end and someone had attached a lamp base to the bottom.

Definitely something unique.

Intrigued, I asked the owner if she could tell me anything about these one-of-a-kind, heinous-yet-filled-with-potential  lamps.

She said years ago, her father-in-law lived in Sweden and worked at a wallpaper plant. They used these cylinders, dipped in dye, to print the pattern on the wallpaper.

I was intrigued and paid her the $2 asking price.

I started remaking them by spray painting them turquoise. Since they had so many grooves, nooks, and crannies, it took several coats to hit all the spots.

I also spray painted the base a bright gold before setting-off on a mission to find some the perfect lampshade. I found some plain white shades the right size and then taped off the chevron pattern with painter’s tape.  After the taping was complete (cough … took a lot longer than I expected), I spray painted them with several coats of the same gold.

Back to the cylinders … I then took my trusty Dremel, with a sanding attachment, and sanded down the raised pattern parts so that the original gold metal beneath would show through. I then reassembled and topped them with the new chevron shades.

I thought they turned out really cute!  I love that they have a story behind them, and that I had the privilege of saving them from the landfill.

Plus, no matter how hard you look, you’ll never, ever find another pair like these!