Going Old School {DIY Schoolhouse Light}

This week I am busy running my son to and from the U of M campus in Minneapolis.  He is in a “future stars” baseball camp.  There are few things in the world cuter than watching 5 year olds play baseball.  With the limited time this week, I was in need of a quick and easy DIY project.

Enter this $30 schoolhouse light from Home Depot.  The pirate playroom basically just has a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.  Now that we are pulling the room together, it was time for an upgrade.  I originally wanted an amazing star pendant for this space, but a very low ceiling and the cost made me change my mind.  For now, I am sticking with my $30 DIY.

The schoolhouse light was great to begin with, but I have long admired these striped lights from Schoolhouse Electric.  So, I worked a little magic with tape and spray paint to make my own striped version.  This whole project took less than 30 minutes, plus 15 minutes to install the light.  It was the perfect project for a busy week, when I’d rather be watching my son try to hit his first pitched ball.

First, I used Frog Tape to tape off stripes on the shade.  The shade has the slightest taper, but it was still pretty easy to keep a straight tape line around the shade.  I used a ruler to make sure my spacing was right.  I made my stripes 1/2″ wide.  I only had 1″ painter’s tape on hand, so for the middle stripe I had to cut out a half-inch strip from the two overlapping tape pieces.  I just drew the half-inch stripe on the tape and used an xacto knife to cut out the center section.

To keep this project quick and easy, and avoid brush marks, I opted for spray paint.  I should note that this spray paint does not really adhere to glass.  The paint can be chipped or scraped off the glass.  But, since no one will be touching the shade, the paint should stay put.  I just wanted to note that, if any one plans to spray paint stripes on other glass surfaces…might not be as durable on a vase that gets handled.

To mask off the top and bottom of the shade, I used aluminum foil.  It was easy to scrunch around the odd shape and tape into place.  With a very odd-looking taped and foiled shade, I got my spray paint on.

Three good thin coats later and I was a very happy camper.  I peeled the tape off immediately after the third coat.  Then, I gazed at the light from every angle for the next 10 minutes while it dried.  I LOVE the stripes!  Contrary to the perfectionist in me, I also like that they are less than perfect, which makes them more like vintage hand-painted stripes.  Finally (less than 30 minutes later), it was ready to hang.

I LOVE the vintage schoolhouse look for this pirate-themed playroom.  I LOVE how well the stripes go with the nautical theme.  The light looks great and only drops about 10″ from the ceiling, which is perfect for the low ceiling in this room.

I went a little crazy taking pictures…it is not the most photogenic light or room (since it gets no natural light), so I tried for some unique angles to share this space with you.  Here is a shot of the light with the family room in the background: (And, yes, there is a method to my madness using an aqua tone on the light that coordinates with colors in the family room.)

And, to give you another perspective, here I am with my feet propped up on the rug ottoman in the family room looking into the playroom.  We have the perfect vantage point to see what the kids are up to, yet we get to keep the toys out of the family room!

Can’t wait to get the rest of the playroom finished, so I can spend my days with feet up on the ottoman watching the boys play :)