Last weekend, I was out thrift shopping with my friends and found a set of two pretty lamps.  They were  only $12 each, but the cord on the one was very old.  You can see it was all cracked.

The other cord wasn’t as bad, but still was risky.  I decided for the price to take a chance on buying the lamps and trying my hand at rewiring them.  I went to Lowe’s that day and bought a kit.

There were several options, but for only $10.24 this included everything I could possibly need.  And, to buy the wire and the top portion separately it cost more.  So, I went with the economical option even though I might have leftover pieces.  I bought 2 kits, so that I would know both lamps would be safe to use.  I started by taking the old wiring out of the lamps.  This was very quick and easy, as shown in the pictures and steps listed below.

Step 1 – Remove the top cap

Step 2 – Lift the next piece and remove the first screw.

Step 3 – Remove the second screw to separate and expose both wires

Step 4 – Pull the cord from the base to remove your wiring from the lamp

I followed the same  4 steps in reverse to rewire the lamp.

Step 1 – Insert new wire

Step 2 – Wrap neutral wire (the one with ribbing in my kit) clockwise around silver screw.  I did use my wire cutters to strip a bit more of the cord to expose the wire more.  Tighten the screw.

Step 3 – Wrap other wire clockwise around gold screw, and tighten the screw.

Step 4 – Place cap over the piece containing the wires and screws and pull your cord from the bottom of the lamp to remove any extra cord length.

In 4 easy steps, I had successfully rewired my lamp.

I was very excited that it lit!!  It was a quick process, and Puddy laid on the bed and watched me as I worked.  For some reason, I prefer to work and craft on the floor instead of using my desk.  So, the bed gives Puddy a good view.

Then, came the fun part. I bought the lamps to replace the 2 mismatched lamps that we have in our master bedroom.

The new lamps look pretty on Bob’s nightstand and on mine.

The shades are what got my attention at first, but I really love the detail on the base of the lamp.

Now, I know not to be  afraid to buy thrift shop lamps since they can be rewired in just a few easy steps.  Have you ever bought a thrift shop lamp?  Have your rewired a lamp?