I was inspired in to make a new tallish countertop lamp for my laundry room to better integrate with fishing themed collection of thrift store decor as well as mirror my laundry rooms vertically exposed plumbing using the challenges repurpose, upcycle, transform and <$20 Studio challenge directive. Something more suitable as well as functional for someone who has a $10 thrift store restored Blue Marlin taxidermy mount in their laundry room.

After thoughough scubbing -the fishing rod was cut down using a pipe cutter. The spare hollow length will be saved for the rebuild/mounting to the lamp base. The very bottom of the fishing rod handle was drilled open to allow for the electrical wiring into the hollow rod. I used superglue to seal up the spool of fishing line to better seal it down to prep for priming. Because of all the moving parts, cracks and crevices a tedious hand painted application of Bullseye 1-2-3 Waterbase Primer was done to allow for better spray paint bonding and hopefully a professional finish.

The wooden nautical wheels brass curved arm of the wall sconce was cut off with a hack saw. The topside mounting hole was filled with stainable wood filler and the threaded lamp rod applied. The unit was sanded, filled defect stained, entire base was resealed with Painters Touch 2x Ultra Cover Matte Clear.

Lampshade was sprayed with Rust-Oleum Protective Enamel Gloss White on the interior and Painters Touch 2x Ultra Cover Satin London Gray was applied on the exterior of the shade -with masking applied as needed to keep the two colors separate. The clean fresh gloss white interior makes a stunning contrast to the London gray exterior.

Fishing rod was sprayed (over the primer) with Painters Touch 2x Ultra Cover Satin London Gray in an upright and next inverted position with a 360 degree application to get comprehensive coverage. After paint cure an application of Painters Touch 2x Ultra Cover Clear Matte was applied to take the overall sheen down on the fishing rods final paint finish. Using the awesome Rust-Oleum comfort grip was an outstanding privilege!

Fishing rod was wired and reassembled using the spare cut off hollow piece and tightly fitted to wooden base threaded lamp rod component (using duct tape to fatten the cut off insert) to tighly slide the hollow fishing rod over onto the wooden base. Base undermounted locking nut tightened. Lightbulb and shade attached. Decorative accents finished the project: bobber garland that I had previously made for a wreath, wooden fish was tied on the actual fishing rods line, gone fishing sign and some real lures were added.

Choosing the color was the hardest part of the project with the Rust-Oleum rainbow available- my final color choice was not to compete with big blue and silver fish in the room that the lamp mirrors. I selected the subtle toned color with low sheen rather than a shocking bright glossy color that may have been more expected in a wacky project like this.

The transformation of a discarded muddy rod and some thrift store items into a new sculptural themed lamp was enhanced by the Rust-Oleum sophisticated London Gray color to fit nicely with my existing window treatment and rug patterns.

Found, free - lucky and unique opportunity ~ “One mans trash is another ones treasure “