Shady Business

Our master bedroom has taken on a new look these days—and once it’s pieced together, I’ll be sure to share the outcome.  Since I moved our bedroom lamps into the living room (where they quickly adapted to their new home and shed some much needed light), I’ve been on the lookout for replacements.  There are so many fun bases and shades available right now, and as usual, HomeGoods/TJ Maxx and Marshall’s carry an abundant supply in a variety of prices.  Not long ago, while browsing the clearance section at HomeGoods (are you surprised?), I happened upon these beauties, marked down to $22 each.

I loved the base color (it ties in with our new duvet), but I was not a huge fan of the lamp shade.  I mean, it’s kind of cool in an ugly sort of way, but it didn’t really fit my idea of a calming, soothing look, which is ultimately what I want our bedroom to be.  I decided to buy them, in hopes that I would be able to replace the shades.  In case you’re wondering, my philosophy is that if it’s a good deal, someone else will snag it, so I might as well buy it, take my purchase home to see if it “goes,” and then return it if I don’t like it.  As a habitual returnee, I have never had a problem returning purchases—I just take good care of my receipts and make sure to return items within the typical 30 day allotment.

Anyway, after popping into stores all over town (that totally makes me think of The King’s Speech—great movie, by the way—when the king’s wife says, “We don’t ‘pop’”—but I guess I do, which just solidifies my common birth), I found these understated shades at Wal-Mart.

While Wally World is not my favorite place to shop, I do like their Better Homes & Gardens line—the creator of my shades.

But once I got them home, I realized that the shades were a different style than the original lamp shades.  Clearly, I had a thing or two to learn.  After doing a quick bit of research (how did people survive before Google?), I discovered that there are two predominant types of lamp shades in the world.

The most common type of shade is a spider fitted with a harp, which looks like this.

[gallery link="file" order="DESC" columns="2" orderby="ID"]

The second type is called an uno, and it fits directly over the lamp socket, like this.

Since the lamps I bought originally were fitted with a harp, I didn’t think I would be able to use my uno shades.  But after fiddling around for a few minutes, I realized that the harp fitter was removable, and once I took it off, all I had to do was unscrew the light bulb, place the uno fitter over the socket, and tada!

The cute knob that attached to the harp was no longer necessary, so I tossed it into a bowl with several other knobs that I’m hoping to use soon.  For now, they add a splash of color to our bookshelves all nestled in an orange bowl.

It’s possible you have a lamp base that you love, but you’re not sure if you can switch out the shade.  I can’t speak for all lamps, but after my little switcheroo, it seems like a pretty easy fix that would work for most lamps.  If you have an uno shade and want to fit it with a harp, you can purchase a saddle for underneath the socket (around $1) and a harp (around $3) for a cheap and easy solution.  And if you want to switch out a spider shade for an uno shade, all you need to do is remove the harp.  It really is amazing how such a small thing changes the look of a room.  And there you have it—customized lamps on a budget.  And while I’m not planning to do this anytime soon, I’ve wondered what it would look like if I spray painted the very base of the lamp a catchy accent color to offset the gray/blue look.  Don’t you love knowing that even if you never do it, at least you have the option?  I do.

Has anyone creatively redesigned a lamp from a thrift store?  I keep finding these adorable lamps at the ARC and Goodwill for just a few bucks, but I have nowhere to put them!  If I did, I would be spray painting them and replacing the shades like a crazy woman.  It’s probably a good thing our house doesn’t have many extra rooms.