~I ♥ Standard Lamps~

There's sometimes a nice fuzzy frugal feeling of satisfaction when you've found (via car boot sale, charity shop, auction, hand-me-down)  an old object because you like it, then spot a similar item in a magazine for loads of pennies.  Maybe a bit of that feeling comes from my sad inner craving for validation (see, I knew it was nice/valuable/fashionable!) but it does please me, however that my vintage or retro finds are 'on trend'. I spotted this beauty in Woman & Home February issue p159...


Orla Kiely Lamp £400
Image from Unique and Unity
http://www.uniqueandunity.co.uk/lighting/OKFLTSACPCR.html

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..And it reminded me of my version - an original mid-century lamp a friend gave me when clearing his parents house.  It's teak and brass.  It needed rewiring and a new baton holder (parts approx. £3) and a new shade (£9.60 Dunelm)

A lovely standard lamp with a bit of history.  (However, if anyone would like to buy me the Orla Kiely version, of course I would accept!)



~I ♥ Standard Lamps Part 2~

Remember my standard lamp from eBay? The one that turned out to be faux mahogany and faux working order...

It's had a sand down, a coat of (substantial) undercoat and 3 coats of paint.  I mixed some paints I had already to get this mushroomy beige colour which has a nice matt eggshell finish...

It's the result of Craig & Rose 1829 Chalky Emulsion in Deep Sung Cream

plus

Farrow and Ball Estate Eggshell in New White

It had a good result and the paint is a lovely texture and finish.

What about the vintage lampshade project? I have to admit defeat on that score. I watched several online tutorials and looked at kits, then I bought an old shade and stripped it down. I ordered some self adhesive vinyl from eBay and set to work with my precious vintage fabric piece. Unfortunately it didn't work out - what my son would call an *epic fail*.

I shall consign lampshade-making to the same place that my crochet-fear resides. 

Well, I can't afford £50-£80 that handmade shades are selling for, so I gave in and spent some pennies (£10) on this shade from TKMaxx, then added some ricrac braid and a bobble trim. 

The shade is probably a tad too small, but I'm quite pleased with it anyhow as it looks nice with my new wallpaper.

~I ♥ Standard Lamps~

My Mum has a talent at sniffing out great things on Ebay and this week she managed to find me a Standard Lamp (minus the shade) for less than a tenner.  They're much sought after at the moment and I've been on the lookout for a cheap one for a while. Sod's law that when things get popular, the prices and bids go mad on auction sites and I didn't want to spend much. It was a collect-only item, just 10 minutes down the road.  This weekend I'll be giving it a coat of paint from leftover F&B eggshell that's already in the garage, as I can't afford the Annie Sloan paint I would like.

Though listed as 'mahogany' and 'in full working order',  it was in fact painted dark brown gloss and didn't work. Never mind, it has now been rewired and got a new plug...

Mahogany?  I think *not*!!

I will now be scouring the charity shops and car boot sales for a swanky vintage shade that I can tart up.  I'm thinking down the lines of these shades by Leeds-based Two Material Girls.