one room challenge week #3: making shades + buying harps

if you follow me on instagram, then you will know that i have just arrived in south carolina to iron out a few last minute details for the ocean winds villa. (you can read more about that project here and here. after pictures are coming soon!)

the last week was a bit of a blur, and i managed to get a lot done!

brought these babies to the upholstery shop:

i dropped off my vintage lamps to get rewired, and to order some new shades.



if you happen to get lucky and find an awesome vintage lamp, rewiring is a must. the older plugs are a fire hazard! (there is a great store here in salt lake where i go called the lamp store. yeah. i know. pretty easy to remember, right? it is located just across from liberty park.)



 i paid $29 each to have my lamps rewired, and they also sturdied up one of the lamps that was a bit wobbly.

and now...onto the new shades!
the shades that the lamp came with were in pretty sad shape--cracking, water stains, and also screamed 1974. i knew i wanted a crisp, simple shade for the lamps, and so i tried out a few options.
it is simply amazing how much the shape of the shade affects the look of the lamp!

here are a few i tested: (i totally felt like goldilocks with the porridge!)

too big.



nice. but perhaps a bit too formal.





also nice, but i really want to play up the linear lines of these unique lamps, and this shade breaks that long lean line that i am looking for.



yesss....! the winner.

 i looked at all of the fabric options for the company that makes these shades, but the one that i really liked was going to take 4-6 weeks to be made. yikes. that was cutting it too close.



HOWEVER, i could have one nearly identical made IN THE STORE for almost 40% less AND i could customize it in any size. uh....duh. sign me up! i ended up ordering some custom shades, that were 1" longer than the last picture.

fast forward 4 days.
yeah. thats right. they FIXED, and rewired my lamps and made me custom lampshades in under a week. good stuff!

when i went to pick them up, i still had ONE more decision to make...the size of the HARP. you know, this thing:

they come in a TON of sizes:



and, just a little tidbit of info---the size is stamped on the top! (which i didn't know before this project! don't you love learning new things?)

here is the rewired lamp and new CUSTOM shade with an 11.5" harp:

toooo high.


and an 11" harp:

still a little high....


and, the one i ended up with...a 10.5" harp:

still a lot more to do, but i am really excited about how everything is coming together!

be sure to check out the other participants progress!

Jana Bek

Autumn Clemons

Coco+Kelley

The English Room

Vanessa Francis

Greige Design

Hi Sugarplum

I Heart Organizing

Jenna Sue Design

Stephanie Kraus

The Pursuit of Style

Julia Ryan

Savvy Home

Simple Details

Simply Grove

6th Street Design

Jill Sorensen

Swoon Worthy

Waiting on Martha

Kimberly Schlegel Whitman

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