Tag: Lighting

I Almost Love the Library’s Vintage Floor Lamps

I’d been wanting a pair of swing-arm lamps to flank the black and white striped sofa in the library. The room needed more lighting on that end, and something with a little height.

I knew exactly which ones I wanted: Visual Comfort’s Dorchester Swing-Arm Floor Lamps. The whole Dorchester line is perfect down to every little detail! Aged brass, black tapered shades, cutely oversized ball finials, and the classic candlestick. Perfect. The lamps would have been about $1500 for the pair though, and while they are well-made and beautifully designed, that was a lot more than I was looking to spend. (Honestly, the kids knocked over the floor lamp that used to be in the library and I had visions of the same thing happening to far more expensive ones. The kids aren’t usually destructive, but they like to play behind the sofa like it’s a secret fort and accidents happen.)

I looked for less expensive alternatives. The problem is that I get picky about the details. I couldn’t find anything for under $100 that I wanted to buy. The lamps I did like enough to consider were in the $250-400 (each) range, and they would have needed different shades on top of that.

I searched for vintage lamps, too. I found a lot of great single lamps, but a pair was harder. A few months went by before I found what I was looking for on FB Marketplace… or close enough. All of that self-professed pickiness? I suppose I can overlook some pretty major differences if the price is right. $50 for the pair meant I could overlook a lot.

I can rattle off all the things I don’t love about them. The shades show some wear, I’m not crazy about the finials, and the candlesticks are more yellow than I’d like. The swirly bit is not my thing, nor is the octagonal base. That brass is some bright ‘80s brass. And functionally, I wanted a swing-arm.

But they do what I need them to do in the room. The overall effect is nice, adding height to the room and the extra lighting we needed. They already came with black tapered shades, and that black does add a necessary punctuation mark against a backdrop of pastel pink. The brass and candlestick elements are there even if not done exactly to my liking. And they’re unique! (Ha, that sounds like such a put-down. They’re so… unique.)

Would the other lamps look better? Yes. Does the difference bother me enough to swap them out? Nope.

October 26, 2018
Pink and White Mushroom Lamps

Yes, I’ve shared several mushroom lamps before, but I feel it is my duty to let you know that a few new contenders have entered the arena. And they’re real cute.

The white and silver lamp from Target is $50, and the white and pink lamps from CB2 each go for $179. They also have a floor lamp version for $249.

If I didn’t already have similarly shaped lamps in our guest room, I would buy a pair of these immediately. (Pink ones. Would definitely choose the pink.)

January 11, 2018
Walter von Nessen (and Inspired) Mushroom Lamps
I used a pair of mushroom lamps recently in our guest room. I like the 60s/70s style they bring to the space, taking it a little more mod than the rest of the house.

They were inspired by the Walter von Nessen NT1037 mushroom table lamp, which featured solid brass construction and a choice of finishes (brass, chrome, nickel, enamel paint, and a plastic dome). Besides the obvious differences in finishes and silhouette, the Nessen lamps were also a larger in scale at 27″ tall and 16″ in diameter. You can still find vintage originals via 1st Dibs or Chairish.

There are several lamps drawing inspiration from those original mushroom lamps on the market right now though, in addition to the pair I picked up. Here’s how they compare.
- Threshold Metal Table Lamp, Target — $42.99
  The base column is much thicker than the others, and it’s made of a base metal with a brassy gold finish on the outside. 20″ tall, 13.5″ in diameter. Also available with a light bulb for a few dollars more.
- Tiered Shade Table Lamp, West Elm — $149
  The tiers pull inspiration from Art Deco fixtures and the column is very slender. Also made of a base metal with a faux antique brass finish. 20″ tall, 17″ in diameter.
- Sidnie Lamp, Schoolhouse Electric — $449
  Made of natural brass with a painted steel base, and designed with thoughtful details like a cloth-covered cord and more finished interior with rotary switch. 19.5″ tall, 12″ in diameter. Also available in white or royal blue for $299.
Real talk, the Target lamps are fine, but the thicker base and connection between the base and shade are not my favorite. They’re also lightweight and easily tipped over, but the price was right and they were for a guest room that mostly hosts the kids’ occasional sleepovers. If I were buying them for a different spot where we’d see and use them all the time, I would have invested in the far lovelier version from Schoolhouse Electric. I even prefer their styling over the Nessen originals.

Which is your favorite? And if the answer is different (as it was in my case), which would you buy?
May 22, 2017
Shapely Glass Pendant Light Fixtures
Five years ago, I hung a cabinet knob as a pendant over the dining table in our dollhouse. Then when we moved into this house three years ago, waiting for us was a very similar pendant in the dining room! The coincidence made me happy.

The length has always bothered me because it was hung too high, but there were other lights in our home that bothered me more. As I’ve slowly replaced fixtures over the years, I still think about this one in the dining room. Should I find a longer downrod, then rewire and lower it? Replace it with a chandelier and move it to another room? I don’t think I have a good spot for it anywhere else though. If we were able to remodel and expand the kitchen, I would love the pendant over a breakfast nook, but who knows if or when that will happen.

Still, I do love it, short length and all. In case you’re looking for something similar, I pulled together my favorite shapely glass pendants, some more modern and some with the same character as ours. I love milk and opal glass, but there are a few clear ones in the mix too.
1. Rotunda Small Ringed Pendant, E. F. Chapman, Circa Lighting
  11.75″ diameter, $1155
2. Baldwin Pendant, Rejuvenation
  schoolhouse shade w/ 14″ diameter (6″ fitter), $275
3. Alcazar Pendant, Anthropologie
  12.5″ diameter, $398
4. Suspension Light, Peter Behren, 1st Dibs
  9.5″ diameter, $2500
5. Casablanca Pendant Lamp, Anthropologie
  8.5″ diameter, $298
6. Gale Large Pendant, Thomas O’Brien, Circa Lighting
  15.5″ diameter, $840
7. Precision Large Pendant, Kelly Wearstler, Circa Lighting
  17″ diameter, $1470
8. Modern Schoolhouse Pendant, Michael S Smith, Homeclick
  20″ diameter, $1155
9. Hudson Valley Dutchess Pendant, Lamps Plus
  12″ diameter, $299
10. Xavier Large Pendant, Ralph Lauren, Circa Lighting
  20″ diameter, $1540
11. Parisian Architectural Milk Glass Brasserie Pendant, Restoration Hardware
  9″, 12″, 15″, or 18″ diameter, $239-$369
12. Hudson Valley Washington Pendant, Lamps Plus
  20″ diameter, $700
13. Vintage Art Deco Chain Pendant w/ Tiered Skyscraper Shade c.1935, Rejuvenation
  11″ diameter, $765
November 30, 2016
Cloche Lamps
They’re a thing. And they’re not exactly a new thing, but suddenly I’m entranced by them in a way that I wasn’t before — especially the clustered Edison bulb old-timey vaguely steampunky/sciencey versions. (That’s a technical term.)
So functional! You know, rather than displaying, say, a collection of vintage doll forms. (Which I’m also very much entranced by, yes.)
September 15, 2016
Analysis Paralysis

Have I adequately conveyed the amount of over-thinking I do for everything around here? Are you familiar with analysis paralysis?

“The state of over-analyzing (or over-thinking) a situation so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome. A decision can be treated as over-complicated, with too many detailed options, so that a choice is never made, rather than try something and change if a major problem arises. A person might be seeking the optimal or “perfect” solution upfront, and fear making any decision which could lead to erroneous results, while on the way to a better solution.”

Yep.

I think my favorite category of home decor is lighting. I’m looking for sconces right now and I can find plenty in the $250-350 range that I like, which is doable if you save up. But times three for the third floor, and then three more for the second floor? Now you’re looking at $1500-2100. You’d better damn well love those lights. Meanwhile, there are open junction boxes in the hallway outside our bedrooms, and the sconces on the third floor look like this.

Bad patch jobs, complete with joint compound on the fixtures themselves. I’ve gotten really good at ignoring the problem until now, but it is starting to drive me batty. Hence the renewed sconce search!

A bunch of my favorites have already been pinned to my lighting board, and there are more that I’ve been eyeing as I think about what would work for the house. But then I went ahead and put some sconces in my cart and instead of letting them sit there while I spent four more days looking at every option from every source, I actually bought them. Boom. Done.

They are not my absolute favorite. They aren’t really brass (“water-based finish is painted in antique brass or bronze”), and the second floor hallway needs a mix of single and double sconces, so these aren’t an option for that space. I’ve gone ahead and ordered three for the top floor though where I needed something classic, not too big, with traditional details. On sale for $62 a pop, plus another $10 or so for each shade.

They won’t be the stars of the space, but I got three for less than one of the others I had been considering. They won’t be perfect, but they will be so much better than what we have now. That’s one more thing checked off of the house’s long to-do list! They should get here by the end of the week.

August 24, 2016