Lamps and Revamps

Sheesh!  I just realized July is already halfway over! This summer has been such a blur.  I was supposed to have let you know by now about Better After’s annual Ugly Lamp Contest coming up in August!  For those of you who are new ’round here, the Ugly Lamp Contest is … well, exactly what it sounds like.  You submit an original picture of an ugly lamp, then the ugliest of the ugly lamps will be chosen to face-off in several rounds of battle, and the crowned champion, as voted on by you readers, will receive the coveted title of Ugliest Lamp of All, plus a fabulous yet-to-be-determined prize.

So!  Be on the lookout now for some insanely ugly lamps.  I don’t care where you find them, at the thrift store, in your great aunt’s basement, in the dentist’s waiting room, just as long as it’s an original picture, taken by you.  Send it my way at betterafter(at)live(dot)com with the subject line “Ugly Lamp,” and you are all set!

See last year’s final round here to see what level of ugly we’re talking about.

And in things-that-are-not-at-all-ugly news, check out this dining room set makeover from Kirsten at Made For A King. She found it for a mere $20 on Craigslist, and decided that a weathered gray and distressed white would fit this farmhouse style much better than the glossy orange finish it was previously sporting.  She first painted the top in Graphite by Annie Sloan, but quickly decided against a totally flat finish and blended in some French Linen while it was still wet to give it a bit more dimension.  Lovely!