Design Finds, One of a Kind Trash or Treasure: Put A Shade On It!

I'm not the only one who likes to use vintage lamps.  If you have not done so  and would like to give it a try you'll need to know the down side.  Finding lamp shades for odd lamps or permanent harps can be a daunting task.  Although, one can always go the expensive custom route and get the job done.

My attic once held quite a collection of old lamp shades and lamp shade wire skeletons.  However, they never seemed to fit my lamp finds or the style I was after.  I do like the way the wire skeletons are being used these days and have saved a few should there be an appropriate occasion or client.


If you are truly interested in going the vintage route you probably shouldn't pass up an opportunity to purchase nice quality new lamp shades when the price is right.  This habit along with a vintage or even new lamp find can mean the beginnings of a "One of a Kind Trash or Treasure."

And, you might want  to collect some finials as well.  Finials are often missing from vintage lamps.  New ones, or great vintage finds, in a scale to fit the lamp, plus new shade, will change the look completely.


This vintage Stiffel lamp with its strange small harp and long stem, shown below, was very outdated with the original tall drum shade and tiny finial.

I tried several new, but not such good quality, shades from the local big box stores before stumbling across this great quality lamp shade design find, shown above right.   New finials help balance the old lamps with the smaller square shades.  The more current good quality fabric shade and style makes the old lamps seem new again.   Now the lamp pair is stately, chic, and of this century.

The lamp shade design find shown right is unusually tall, a trait of vintage permanent harps.  Wouldn't you know it, though, it found a place on a lamp without a tall permanent harp.

This shade can grace a smaller lamp than one would first think of and give amazing presence to various sizes and shapes.  I love the ambient light that shines through this interesting ribbon like shade.  Once again, the finial completes the new look.

Not all vintage lamps need to be rewired.  You will need to check them over carefully though and make sure the switches are not worn out.  Most big box stores carry rewiring supplies in an inexpensive kit and turn keys for old turn switches are readily available.


Vintage lamps without harps can be updated as well.  This one, shown right, needs a glass shade.  You can buy vintage or new glass shades, just be sure to buy the kind that will securely hold your new soft shade. The ones with ridges, shown below, allow the shade frame top to sit snuggly.  You can use a screw from under the shade to hold a finial.





















The updated lamp, shown right, is probably not what you visualized when you first saw the lamp base.  Repeating a design element of the lamp in the finial often gives a good result.  This lamp has a round brass circle at the base, a green circle wreath above that, and another more detailed wreath further up.  A circle finial in a brass color works well.





















Square, rectangular,  and unusually shaped shades are popular right now.  Current style shades make instant updates.

Go ahead, give it a try.  You will love turning trash into a one of a kind  treasure.

Re-Purpose Re-Use and Green Stuff: For The Love Of Vintage Lamps

Reuse those old lamps.  They are a dime a dozen at flea markets, junk shops, and consignment stores as well as antique shops, yard sales, and online.  You can find one to fit just about any design or decorating project in any price range.

This lamp pair recently emerged from my closet making a debut in the master bedroom (an eBay find a couple of years back).  A new drum shade lifted them from their previous era and a large hand painted finial (from another vintage lamp) complemented and balanced the proportions of new shade and old lamp.  This lamp is tall, perfect for a cozy late night book reading session.


The detail is exquisite and the metal base adds texture and dimension to the bedside tables.

It was the casual carved look of this ceramic lamp pair that caught  my eye (in a Spencer, WV Antique Store) for a den project.  The den needed a lift without a major expense.  These lamps took on a very different persona once the old huge shades they came with were removed and traded for others from a previous consignment store buy.  An ivory elephant finial was a perfect topper.  One already had new wiring and the wiring on the other was in great shape.  

This old floor lamp had been in the family for years.  A new silk shade (a smaller shade than would have graced it originally) provides a soft light, without a big old heavy floor lamp statement, in an otherwise dark corner.  This old three way light can amp up to 200 watts of task lighting, if you need it, or hang out quietly using only 15 watts for a little night light atmosphere.

A $5.00 brass Stiffel lamp (a Roanoke VA flea market find) perks up with a new linen shade and new wiring.  The brass of the three-way lamp has mellowed with time befitting the gentleman who uses it next to his new not old Stickely leather chair.  A three way bulb allows for good reading light.   And, low wattage use is possible when the lamp is only needed for general room lighting.

This sweet porcelain rose bud lamp found on eBay brightens up a guest bedroom.  Although the cost was similar to lamps now found at major discount stores, the quality and craftsmanship of this lamp is superb.

This low cost Asian style consignment store find is also of very good quality.  It can handle a variety of shade styles and would work in just about any room.  Here is graces an antique chest of drawers.  However,  with a different shade it has also graced an entry hall table of a modern clean lined home.

Occasionally, at least for me, it is the lamp that catches the eye, inspires, and waits hiding in the closet until I dream up a project to surround it.  My most recent vintage lamp pair purchase from "The Designer Consigner" in Christiansburg, VA fits this category.

These are now hanging out with temporary shades in a bedroom waiting for more designer touches.  I know this lamp pair can be spectacular with the right shades and the right setting.  They were originally vases, possibly French from the late 1800 French Deco and Aesthetic style.  They were made into lamps many years ago with hand painted wooden bases and perfectly fitted metal caps with a harp.  The harps on these lamps are permanent and somewhat limiting of shade height.

I love the warm tones of the bird paintings and I am challenged by the pink deco design with black handles.  The warm painting behind and the rich wood of the dresser are already bringing this lamp back to life.  Ah, but it can have more energy and current design style than this.  I can hardly wait!  These are one of those finds that will inspire a complete room redo...

...and there are more great finds still waiting in the closet.

Off the Wall and Special Things: Why do you like that thing?

Most of us display things we really like (some more than others, but that is a very different topic, indeed.)  I like to look closely at the things people choose for display.

We might think we have Grandmother's silver teapot on the shelf because it was Grandmother's -  ah,  but there is much more to what we choose to show.

I'll use myself as an example.  I love teapots and think there might be a gene for this.  My grandmother had a collection of coffee pots and we would discuss their virtues when I visited her.  I fell in love with the shapes and lines of this utilitarian object.  Then, I discovered teapots have a greater variance of grace and elegance.  Still, replacing even an electric coffee maker is, for me, a line and shape drawn out anxiety provoking experience.

I've ended up with quite a teapot collection, although the teapot my Grandmother gave me is in a trunk in the attic, saved for a nephew.  I learned I didn't like them all.  Slowly some of these pots have found new homes as I noticed others looking longingly at them.  I wonder what it was the oglers liked about them? 

Back to lines and shapes: My favorite teapots tend to be long and lean with elegant curved spouts.  If they are not long and lean, they will have nice curves and subtle pleasing lines.  They can be fancy, whimsical, plain or unrecognizable as a teapot.  They can be silver worn or superbly polished.  They can be ceramic or glass... for decoration or for tea. 

       Hmmm, I wonder what Freud would say about this teapot spout thing?  Perhaps we shouldn't go there.

Of course other elements of design matter and this is where we learn some things.  As I've indicated, I am drawn to lines and shapes , they are very important to me.  They can create a soft subtle elegance. When I look around my house I see those teapot lines and shapes elsewhere.  But I also like fine detail.  You will find find detail on some of my pots and  things as well.

 Recently I was at a party and noticed things on display: antique orange carnival glass candle sticks, clear cut glass salt dips with the zipper or saw tooth pattern, and an interesting art piece. I could see design style readily in a recently remodeled kitchen. There was a very dimensional small squares stone back splash. And, European type metal legs, long not squat, graced some of the kitchen base cabinetry . How interesting!

The intricacy and dimensionality of the stone back splash design-speaks to that salt dip for sure!

The things we display tell a lot.  Oh yes!  Forget "What is your favorite color?  Do you consider your style this or that?"

Just tell me why you like that thing!

Color and Other Design Horror Stories -

1930's Metal Furniture In A Guest Room Friends and Family Will Enjoy

What was once very cool and even, awesome, can be quite the opposite some years later.  Take for example these two metal side tables.  They spent their first years as trendy metal furnishings with a painted blond wood "look" that was quite the rage of the times.  You see them here in their second life having been used by different owners and painted light colors.

Using these today, as is, even if they were the now famous designer pieces which they are not, for bed side tables in a guest room  would qualify as a Color or Other Design Horror Story, for sure.  But that is the point, exactly.  Color and Design can take the horror out of the story.

Metal, old looking office furniture type pieces don't have a rightful place in today's spa-inspired oasis bedrooms.  However, these pieces have nice clean lines and they are sturdy enough to handle anything a guest might set up on them -including themselves.

The challenge was deciding how to alter the look and use them in a guest room.  A paint job made to look like wood didn't do much for them the first time around and probably wouldn't now.  However, textured paint in a rich deep color went a long way in altering the flat metal  antique file cabinet effect.  We used a hammered metal look spray-on paint in dark brown.




Adding a bit of whimsey and a more current style, we painted silver stripes over the top and sides.

These pieces never had a drawer.  Painting the interior dark brown blended it without calling too much attention to it, providing easy access for a book or magazine.


Since individual pieces are rarely viewed alone in a space, soft furnishings, textures, color, pattern and other design elements can be used to balance and harmonize.

 In this space, the brown stripes and legs of the table repeat the dark shape of the floor lamps.  The silver repeats the silver of the base of the lamps and balances soft warm gold colors found throughout the space.  The cool silver also bounces some light into the space and at the bedside from the windows.  The dark brown of the tables play off the leather headboard nicely and the stripes keep the pieces and the space from seeming too heavy with brown furniture.

This bedroom is over a garage with it's own private stairway and bath.  We wanted the space to maintain a sense of hidden surprise (as stairs and all are well hidden from the rest of the house) while being inviting with comfortable unexpected country elegance.  Spa-like settings provided some inspiration, however, this bedroom reflects the rambling interior architecture of the home and its country surroundings.

The tables are small and the stripes add interest to the tops, they don't require much in the way of accessories.  A simple water pitcher and/or fresh flowers reveal an interest in the comfort of the occupants.  Uncluttered surfaces leave respectful places for their things during their stay.

Items that are personal to the home owners, in a guest space, can sometimes make guests feel as though they are imposing upon personal territory.  Using a spa as inspiration for this space helped keep the focus on the guest.  Spas are for the client.  When there are extra rooms available for overnight guests -they should be for the guest.    They should be inviting and comfortable and not too fussy, assuring the stay is memorable for all the right reasons.