How and why to light your home with vintage table lamps.

Do You Decor?

Many people want to create a homey feeling these days by adding personal touches such as decorative collectables and vintage furnishings, but one thing they often overlook is the right choice of table lamps for each room. There are as many styles of table lamps as there are families and personalities, and the choice you make is a subtle way to say something about you and your family. The following article talks about the materials, styles, costs, and reasons to add table lamps to your home decor.

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice

In the vintage market, many kinds of lamps are being recycled into homes that originated in the 20's and 30's all the way to the 80's.  They can be found in porcelain, glass, crystal, wood, plastic, and metal, or any combination of these materials. These lamps usually have good wiring and sockets, and have been inspected by the Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (which I don't know much about, except I know I can count on these lamps to work well if the wires are not damaged). The older plugs, without the one wide tine, will not have the polarized feature, which is not a problem- it was explained to me that a polarized plug simply insures that current of electricity (which alternates from negative to positive in the North America) will always start on the same side. So, this is not a safety feature, alternating current means it alternates, and where it begins nobody should really care!

A Lamp for Every Age

Lamp styles began in the 1920's with electric lamps trying to look like the oil lamps of the 1800's. There are many kinds of old style lamps. They have been made in every era and continue to be made today. In the 1970's a double light glass lamp now referred to as the Gone with the Wind lamp became a popular small lamp for bedrooms.

The Art Deco and Art Nuevo era brought lamps made from glass, ceramic, and brass with smooth curves and bold design. No longer attempting to copy non-electric lamps, these lamps became larger and more functional with three way switching. They also had elaborate shades in silk that are hard to come by today, and might prove to be overwhelming for today's decor, but can be easily updated with a new shade. Hollywood Regency is design style from the Art Deco era, and is characterized by smooth white lines and gold accents that recall the age of Hollywood royalty.

In the fifties the Eames era brought wood and angular metal to lamp style, and added unique plastic shades that are a dwindling commodity today because these shades are so fragile. A good Eames Era lamp is one that you wonder what it is until you turn it on! Occasionally you will find a rare atomic lamp in chrome from this era, reminding us of the doomsday science that came out of this time.

In the sixties bolder colors in glass and ceramic dominate the styles, and TV lamps, which are a collectable in their own right, can be found in many different shapes. But other good lamps from the sixties make great use of proportion and color, and tend to make a statement in a big way about freedom and individuality. Almost anything goes from the sixties through the eighties; from modern to antique reproductions.

It's not the size of your wallet, or is it?

New lamps use many of the same materials and methods today to make lamps, and offer many of the same styles, but if price is a consideration, you can expect to pay between $80 and $150 dollars and up for a table lamp at any retail market. That price will include a new lamp shade, which the vintage market sometimes can't supply, but you will be stuck with the shade they have chosen for your lamp, or the added expense of buying one that you actually like.

Let's Talk Lampshades

Lampshades are a very important consideration for your lamp and not necessarily something you want to leave up to the lamp designer. In the lamp aftermarket there are a wide variety of lampshade companies that will custom make your shade in the colors, fabric, and style of your choice. Another way to add a personal touch to your lamp is to make your own shade. You can do this (the hard way!) from a kit, or you can buy a plain shade in the style of your choice at a discount store and add fringe, ribbon, lace, tassels, beads, or any other material you like, and when you're done you'll have something you can be proud of!

To Table Lamp or Not to Table Lamp

As a member of the "Baby Boomer" generation I can attest that I never gave much thought to table lamps as a home accent. Many of us Boomers started out in small apartments where space was at a premium, and the choice of lamp was narrowed down to floor lamps, desk lamps, wall lamps, and those awful ceiling lights that came in every old building. Our parents had table lamps, but these were often looked upon with distrust since they had a tendency to use these lights to interrogate us when we came home late! But, now we are the rulers of our roost, and we can use the power of table lamps for good!

On a final note, I will force you innocent readers (if you so choose to read further) to read my poetry, since that is what I claim I am doing on eBay: making money to support my poetry habit, so here goes:

Lampoem

I light the corners,
on a  rainy afternoon I am
a warm fire, yellow-eyed beyond
the window, the envy of
outsiders.

I am a shade
over harp and finial.
A base with wires, a switch, and something
in-between, your choice: in glass, crystal,
or wood.

Three ways or one
I go on, spill my shadow wings
on walls, I am a hole in the night
gleaming for convenience
your light.

So if you haven't done so yet, scoot on over to the Table Lamp category in the home section of eBay and take advantage of all the great buys on vintage lamps. Keep in mind that you will be paying a little more freight for these larger items, but I believe you will find it is well worth it, for the selection, price, and ease of shopping.