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

Trademarked by Calling it Home

affordable find: gold table lamp

this affordable find isn't going to save you hundreds of dollars (unless you a re going to buy like 5 of them!), but it IS going to save you SOME dollars!

devon table lamp
$199

ripley table lamp
$129

happy shopping!

affordable find: marble column lamp

noah snow marble lamp
$792

pilani scroll table lamp
$165
($330 for a set of 2, on sale for $264, so $132 each!)

happy shopping!

affordable find: gold patterned cage lamp

iron pattern makers table lamp
$259

gold cage table lamp
$319

pattern makers table lamp
$99


happy shopping!

affordable find round up

a few more affordable goodies that i spotted recently:

if you are the only person in america who doesn't have a round mirror in their house, 
now just might be the time to get one!

this glass becca mirror is ridiculously cheap right now...i'm talking under $30 folks.


another great mirror---nearly 4' in diameter, and under $70. that's a lot of bang for your buck!


the jackson mirror is another bargain at just under $50.


anytime i find a good looking mercury glass lamp for under $100, i get excited. this one has such a great shape and is $69.


i'm kinda in love with the color and shape of this dijon ceramic lamp. aren't those little handles cute? only $70...


this grey nailhead x-bench looks WAY more expensive than it's $311 price tag. it is also available in blue and purple.


i thought this $85 golden rings table was whimsical. it would look great perched beside a tailored chair.


although i am not a huge fan of the wood stain on this $229 console, i think it would look a-mazing painted in a glossy white or a charcoal grey. the details are really great--especially the round detail around the ring pull hardware.

how cute is this little ottoman? it would look darling in a little girls room, paired with fuchsia or coral.

happy shopping friends!!

(house update: we are in the process of getting the permits secured, and finalizing plans and working on engineering, which is going to take anywhere from 8-14 days. after that, we will be able to break ground!)
if you haven't filled out my survey, click here! i will be posting results tomorrow.

affordable find: glass cylinder lamp

who doesn't love a great bargain? check this one out:

payton glass cylinder lamp

$456

striated glass cylinder lamp

$79.95

happy weekend friends! 

lamps in the kitchen?

i spotted this kitchen in the january 2011 issue of atlanta homes + lifestyles, and rediscovered
it last night while sifting through some of my magazines. it was of course, the lamps that caught
my eye...lamps in the kitchen are not something we see very often. what do you think about this look?
would you ever put a lamp in your kitchen?

affordable find: brass sphere lamp

here is a happy little find to make your wednesday a little bit prettier!

arteriors bishop antique brass lamp

$468

possini brass finish sphere lamp

$179.99

diy gold leafed lamp

i found this lamp about three months ago 

for $3 at a local thrift store.

i completely flipped over the size and shape,

and knew i could make it into something special.

although it looks wood, it is actually some type of resin.

it is very heavy and well made, 

and i love the slight wood grain and 

the scratches and dings all over it.

i knew i wanted to use this lamp in my "new" den, 

and so when i decided to paint the walls of my "den" a dark, moody blue, 

i thought gold might be a nice contrast.

i remembered seeing a chest that jenny had silver leafed, 
and thought that this lamp would look great gold.

plus, it was so easy!

what i used:

gold leaf

gold leaf spray adhesive

foam brush
my 9 year old daughter as slave labor

 i taped off the base, which i did not want to be gold leafed, 
and lightly sprayed the lamp with the "gold leaf" spray adhesive.
***

(i paid about $7 for that little can of specialty adhesive, 
but i thought it smelled and worked exactly like my beloved 
super 77 spray mount. if i had it to  do over again, i would

have just used spray mount)
***

then,  i gently applied the gold leaf sheets to the lamp,
and used the foam brush to press it in to the crevices.

here it is finished.

it was a little messy, but totally easy!

as you can probably see, the neck of the lamp was 

WAY too long...any shade that i put on 

looked completely ridiculous. 

(like an orange on a toothpick!)

plus, the top was all "wonky".

so, i called a local lamp repair company

to see how much they would charge me

to cut down the neck and rewire it.

as soon as i heard "$27",

i raced over.

here is my almost complete lamp:

the lamp was rewired 

and 3" were cut off the neck.

i still need to touch up the base.

it's a little dinged up.

i was really impressed with all the work that

i was able to get done for $27!

i also need to buy a new shade for it.

of course, i have an old yucky shade that

came with another thrift store lamp i bought...

i might just recover it in a nice linen.

or, use this restoration hardware drum shade that

i picked up for $1 (YES, $1!!) at the 

downeast clearance center. 

you can't tell

from the pictures, but it is in bad shape as well...

it has some stickers on the back and it

is really dirty. maybe it would look good

covered in the linen...

hmm...decisions, decisions.

which shape do you think would looks best?

linking to:

remodlaholic

diy show off

tatertots and jello