I liked the brass.

Pretty! :)

I didn't think I'd like. The hue of blue goes well with the simple lampshade and black base. Nicely done.

It was definitely better "before".

I preferred the brass, too, but this is a useful reminder of the wonders of spray paint. It can work near-miraculous transformations on all sorts of materials, extending their useful (and appreciated) lives for many years.

Love it!!

Gosh, I finally gave in to the modern brass trend and I'm surprised how much I like it!

I think it looks great! Brass seems so dated to me and it's hard to get that big of a lamp on the cheap. Fantastic job!

I like the before AND the after, but if you're not into brass, you're not into it! I think the shade of blue Michelle picked is a very pretty one.

I found a big brass lamp at a thrift store myself. I paid $20, so Michelle definitely got a deal for $6! I kept mine brass, but splurged on a fancy shade:
http://thenestinggame.com/2011/10/04/fat-brass-lamp/

I love the shape of the base! What you've done with it is definitely a breath of fresh air.

I just wonder how well the paint will stick to that brass surface, and for how long. It's all to the better that it was "roughed up ... ever so slightly" prior to receiving those three coats of paint. Still, though, Valspar rattle-can spray paint on metal gives me pause.

But what the heck, she got more use out of a lamp that might have ended up in the junk pile. Provided it doesn't get knocked around much, it oughta hold up okay. Hope so, anyway.

Isn't brass the new black?

Beautiful shape to that lamp, and the shade of blue is lovely. But it has that bumpy, painted look I'm not wild about.

And when will we be free of the tyranny of the drum shade? It's not the only shape out there, folks! They're great in their way, but it shouldn't be the only go-to shape, repeated in every catalog until we wear out its welcome. Wouldn't a nice curve have mirrored the shape of the base well?

While I realize brass is coming back in style, I wanted to point out that it is possible (with elbow grease and some chemicals... i know i know) to strip the brass coating and expose the stainless steel that is often underneath. I apply oven cleaner and let is soak for about 15 mins and go at it with some steel wool. After doing this a few times you can apply this stuff called Blue Magic (available at auto stores) to polish it up and make it look like you spent a million bucks! Just thought AT readers would be interested!

Nice. I like that you painted the base a darker colour. I have a similar lamp (from a thrift store) which I bought because of the chinoserie-style base.
I would probably go with shade that is more A shaped, but that's just me.

Hmm...I'm not sure I like this.... I could see if the brass was discolored or pitted, the need to paint it, but this lamp was perfectly fine, plus I'm not sure I'm a fan of the textured finish.

I like the blue, but I think with the right shade, the brass would have been good too.

why did the brass go away? why?

Hate the brass, love the blue.

Both the before and after are nice; just depends on your taste. I can picture the brass with a navy shade and a sort of 18th century ship's captain nautical decor.

CK8G0, thanks for the tip about stripping brass finish! I wonder if you could also somehow keep the brass colour but give it a darker, more aged patina.

i like both, but its certainly a matter of preference which you would like in your home ;)

I don't like brass at all. Love the update!

i don't really care about a "brass trend" but i definitely think the before looked better... no offense to the effort though, i guess. i think the shade of blue, with the black, and against the decor... eh. looks cheaper "after."

I don't dislike it, but I would have probably loved it if she had taped off a bit at the top and bottom and left the brass in as an accent, keeping with the contours. I think that would have actually made it look awesome instead of eh.

I hope I never see brass again. Unlike others, I think the paint will stick just fine. The blue color is even prettier in a close-up on the Mommy Blog stie -- a little greener. I wish they had shown a shot where we could see the finial; you can't really tell the whole effect without seeing the finial.

I like some brass objects, but they look so weird with the rest of my decor. I think it's really a matter of taste, and Michelle did a lovely job making a thrift find work with her own style.

@CK840: Great tip about stripping the finish to reveal stainless steel. Do you have any before & after projects using that technique that you might share with me so I can post it on AT? If so, please email me: annamaria@uccellinimedia.com

Also, one more thing I wanted to note. Speaking from experience, "before" photos can be really misleading. What looks terrible in person might look decent, or even really good, in a photo. Real estate photos use this tactic all the time! I remember looking at one house that in photos appeared to be absolutely stunning, but in person was beyond dreadful.

Not thrilled with the rough finish. Otherwise, great color.

I generally am not a fan of brass, but that was a nice one. Esp. with the old finial. The new color is nice.

there's a brass trend? oh lord...

to me, brass is only good for steampunk ensembles and that's it. everywhere i've seen brass (including growing up in my own house) it's always been tacky and dated and gross. like a cheap ploy to have an elegant look that always falls flat on its face. yuck.

but yeah, it's a matter of preference and if you're into brass, this lamp probably looked better before. but i'll put the after version in my house any day of the week. it wouldn't match our decor, but i'll take it over brass!

I like both. But personally I would have kept the original finial. Paint the brass, or not, but you have to agree that a gold base on a brass lamp is just gross. Another personal opinion - I would have painted either the base or the lamp itself in a gloss finish, but not kept both matte. I don't know why, I just like that contrast.

Sometime I want to try stripping only the gloss coating on brass and then adding jeweler's patinas in blues and greens to the metal with the appropriate chemicals...

Shiny brass, though. No. The paint looks good to me, although I prefer slimmer lamp bases that don't take up a whole tabletop.

Who are these people who like brass? Brass is horrible. Everything that is brass always looks better spray-painted a different color. Bronze is another story, but brass always (to me) looks cheap and hideous.

Is brass back? Ugh, no thanks.

I grew up in a house built in the 80's and even though my parents changed a lot of things over the years, the brass door knobs, door hinges, window hardware and various other hardware have remained brass.

Brass reminds me of the 80's too. I have this awkward 3 foot tall brass floor lamp that was an eye sore but after painting it it became a nice structural element.

Fabulousnfresh, Ivlichelle, Snowdin, I know, right? Most of these commenters who are defending brass clearly never lived through the brassplosion of the mid-1980s. We were lucky to come out of that one alive.

I loved the brass. And the finial.