A Place of Splurge

Our long national nightmare is finally over I got new lampshades!  And I paid a lot for them.  A lot for me, that is.  Full disclosure after my snooty little rant yesterday, these are semi-custom shades and I spent about $100 apiece.  Now some of you will be outraged that I would spend a hundred bones on a lampshade (Hi Mom!), but just let me explain why this was worth it...to me.

First, back to the beginning.  I bought them for these lamps in my bedroom.

Now let's talk about WHY I decided to splurge here.  I have always struggled with appropriate scale and shape of lampshades in relation to the lamp base.  Always.  I've never felt confident enough to replace a shade on an existing lamp for fear that I would get it all wrong.  I bought these lamps resale ($40) and they came hatless.  

To ensure I made the right decision, I went to a local company who specializes in such, Heath & Company (shop local! Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach).  The geniuses there quickly selected a large drum shade for my new beauties, and after thumbing through thousands of fabric samples (I really wanted a soft pink velvet but I was scared) I selected a bleached burlap for the fabric.  I needed texture.

Almost immediately after placing the order, I decided on a different destination for the shades.

I LOVE those HomeGoods lamps that I've had for 3 years.  But I've always questioned the tall shade.  And the black is sometimes jarring, don't you think?  I think I thought my living room was going to be all black and white back then.  How strange.  Anyway....tada!

Here's a secret...that lamp doesn't have a harp.  After trying to remove the harp from the bedroom lamps (with nail clippers...classy!), I realized that they are connected to the wiring and I will have to make a Lowe's trip.  But that didn't stop me from cranking out a post....

She's craftaaaay.  Hey!  One more thing...in hindsight, I really haven't run across any giant drumshades at Target, etc. anyway, and flipping through a Ballard Designs catalog the other day showed me that their prices for lamp shades are pretty comparable.  So there you have it.

Sometimes I splurge.  

Oh, and don't get too comfortable with the white base...the bright colors of spring are calling me and I'm quickly succumbing to their siren song.

What do you think, which shade do you prefer?  And if you like the new ones, thanks a heap...just where in the world am I supposed to store those ginormous black ones, hmmmmm?

"No cell phones in this hallway!" ~ at school.  His teacher just shrugged and said she didn't tell him that.  It's the ghostbusters sign, he totally gets it.  Now he's forever on the lookout for what's not allowed.