Did you read my post about Chandelier Love?  This is similar but different.  The difference will be…brace yourself…it will NOT be about chandeliers but about LAMPS.

I am now going to go to TJ Maxx to show you some bright options.

 

 

I have returned.

These lamps have passed my test.  You can put these next to your couch in pairs.  Next to your bed in pairs.  You can use them individually on side tables or on any horizontal surface that is about waist high, more or less. I used the same mug in each picture so you could better relate the size of the lamps.

Table Lamps.

 

This skinny style (above) works best on bedside tables that tend to be crowded–the narrowness takes up less room but because it is tall it still makes a statement.

This is important.  I went to Walmart.  90% of the lamps I saw there you cannot buy.  You know I love a bargain, but a bargain is not a bargain if you have to replace it next month because it is hideous.  These lamps are too small.  I didn’t have my mug so I found someone’s random empty Starbucks bottle and used that to show you scale.

The shades are sold separately so even though the bases are “cheap” you still have to add the cost of the shade…and in the end you saved money but you ended up with something that looks…cheap.  The TJMaxx lamps were between $40 and $90 for base and shade.  Lamps are the jewelry for your house.  Spend the money.  On a side note, I found that Target is not always the better deal compared to TJMaxx.  Many of the lamps are sold without shades (which is kind of a pain) and if there is no sale, tend to be the same price as TJMaxx or even more.  Also, since Target is such a well shopped store…your neighbor may have the same lamp.

Rooms with just overhead lighting make you feel like you are being interrogated.  You must have lamps.  Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.  Save up.  Buy them in pairs.  Don’t buy “little”.  And sorry Walmart, but don’t go to Walmart either.

Next, when you go lamp shopping you are going to see all these cute little things.

See how the mug and the base are much closer in size?  You can’t use these next to your couch or on your bedside tables.  You can, but I’m trying to keep this simple.  Use these as little accents, in the kitchen, the mudroom, in the bathroom, on top of a bookcase etc…  If you just bought the base and bought a teeny little shade to go with it—I’d make you return it.  The redeeming aspect of these lamps are the shades–they make the bases seem “bigger”.

Here’s what I don’t want you to do.  Don’t try to mix and match the bases and shades yourself and get too creative.  We’ll end up back in the pickle that we are already in:)

If you need to replace a shade be sure the shade you choose is just long enough to cover up the switch but not so long that it covers the top of the neck of the lamp.  In general, shades should be about 1/3 of the overall height of your lamp, no matter the size of your room.  Celerie Kemble

I have endless magazine pages that I’ve ripped out over the years.  I took some up close shots of great lamps to illustrated how they make a room.  I’m breaking a ton of “giving credit” rules because I don’t know who did the designs–so I just zoomed in on my camera to highlight the lamps and nothing else.  Most of the pictures are from House Beautiful magazines from the last 5 years.  Notice how most of the lamps are big.  Not dinky.  Notice how the lamps “make” the room–the jewelry.

If this illuminated you check out Chandelier Love🙂