grown-up-pink-paint-colors, love pink, Makeovers

ONE ROOM CHALLENGE GUEST PARTICIPANT – WEEK THREE – MY LAMP OBSESSION

w e l c o m e   t o

I have never taken a professional decorating course. But I have been “a student of decorating” since I was a very little girl. I would always wonder…”Why does this persons house look so much better than that persons’ house?” and I came to the conclusion  this will be in the book...entitled..”Useless and not so useless stuff that I have learned along the way…” .that There are, in my opinion , TWO make or break elements when it comes to decorating – ART and LIGHTING. And sometimes the LIGHTING is ON the ART…but These two things can transform and elevate a space…give it personality and bring YOU into the space if that makes sense…and  take it to the next level.

Think of any room that has turned your head, stopped you in your tracks, made you weak at the knees…and I bet that room had Great lighting and incredible ART.

 

I also have a wallpaper obsession, paint color obsession and can get giddy taking about sideboards…I have a lot of friends.

This week I am going to focus on the LIGHTING and LAMPS and NEXT week we are going to talk about one of my favorite things in the world – ART.

ROBERT ABBEY DOUBLE GOURD LAMPS IN PINK

My friend HOLLY AT THE ENGLISH ROOM SHOULD TEACH A MASTER CLASS IN ART AND LIGHTING. SHE IS SO GIFTED!!!! I know that sometimes when I am stumped I will go to Holly’s blog and some of my other “go-to” designer blogs and STUDY their choices….

I have poured hours into researching lamps and especially trying to find beautiful lamps on a TIGHT budget. There are so many cool Vintage lamps on ETSY and we got our living room chandelier on EBAY – it was taken from an a old mansion in new Orleans….

THE Living Room Chandelier came out of an Old Home In New Orleans

For buying NEW lamps…one of my faves is ROBERT ABBEY . Robert Abbey lamps, though not cheap are a great option and the lamps are beautiful and the colors wonderful!!!

THESE AWESOME YELLOW ROBERT ABBEY GENIE LAMPS HAVE BEEN IN ALMOST EVERY ROOM IN THE HOUSE

    true story…..

 Back when I was in college I did a semester in New York City. It was rough (insert sarcastic face here) , we got to go to museums and see as many Broadway and Off Broadway plays and Artistic exhibits as we could squeeze in and write papers on them!!! One day, my little group and I  ran into Mikhail Baryshnikov. We could barely speak, we were so star-struck, but when we finally broke the ice he was lovely and quite funny. We told him, “Mr Barishnikov, we would love to see your show but the tickets are so expensive (think “Hamilton”) – to which he looked us dead in the eye and said –

“Don’t eat lunch”

TWO OF MY FAVORITE HIGH END LAMP DESIGNERS ARE BUNNY WILLIAMS AND CHRISTOPHER SPITZMILLER.

I would give up lunch for a month, or trips to Starbucks – to own one of Bunny William’s lamps. Heck, two months if that is what it would take!!! BUNNY WILLIAMS produces some of the most beautiful table lamps i have ever seen. I covet them in the worst kind of way. They are not in the budget for this job, but as God is my witness…I WILL HAVE ONE SOME DAY…she used many of them beautifully in the 2015 Southern Living Idea House which happened to be 5 miles from MY house an to which I went three times! Yeah, obsessed.

CHRISTOPHER SPITZMILLER

CHRISTOPHER SPITZMILLER does lamps like nobody else….he is a true Artist. Here is an except from his website bio:

“Christopher’s iconic ceramic lamp designs draw inspiration from classical forms and traditional gem like glazes. He began his career in Georgetown in Washington, D.C. where he worked out of an old school house near Dumbarton Oaks. Shortly thereafter, his work received critical acclaim and his reputation as a noteworthy ceramicist began to emerge. In the summers, he worked from Mecox Gardens in Southampton as an artist in residence and such designers as Albert Hadley, Richard Keith Langham and Suzanne Rheinstein began to commission his work.

Since 1996, Christopher has been concentrating his efforts on his unique lamp designs. In the fall of 1999 after outgrowing his Washington studio he moved to New York City where he now creates his one of-a-kind lamps with his crew of skilled artisans. The lamps are of timeless appeal and luxurious quality. Beautiful classic forms are drenched in bold vibrant rich glazes. Each one of a kind lamp is set in a hand turned hardwood base, which is water gilt with 23k yellow gold or 9k white gold for a silver finish. Currently, Christopher is expanding his designs to table ware and other ceramic accessories. “

Even in you are not in the market for a lamp of this scope there is so much inspiration in his pieces…and studying them has helped me focus my eye on what looks best and what has the longest staying power…. especially because if you are investing is an expensive lamp…you want to to last forever!!!

MORE GREAT LAMPS…

FOR THE ONE ROOM CHALLENGE FAMILY ROOM MAKEOVER I wanted to warm up the space by bringing the lighting down into the room. Currently the room has PLENTY of recessed lighting but the ceilings are high and there is little “middle ground” or warmth. Either the lights are ON ON ON or OFF. Table lamps were a must.

I had to consider a few things…with young children , it is an inevitability that these lamps could be broken…and NO ONE wants to be  micro managing small children in their own family room….to protect lamps.

There will be 3 lamps in this room. Two matching ones on a sofa table behind ONE OF THE SOFAS to protect them from accidental crashes and one on a large round end table. PICTURED ABOVE are some of my options…you will have to come back for the REVEAL to see what I chose!!!

The ONE ROOM CHALLENGE currently in its 11th season, is a bi-annual event where 20 TOP Designers Take ONE ROOM and rise to the occasion . They design, decorate, transform, renovate, small-scale, large-scale projects and each week – they post updates on their progress. And finally 6 weeks down the road…the BIG REVEALS happen!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you again to Linda from “CALLING IT HOME”  for opening the up this even to Guest Participants… Let me tell you  – some of the designs that have come out of the LINKING EVENT are nothing short of BRILLIANT!!!

I will be posting updates weekly on INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST, Facebook and twitter 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO VISIT THE DESIGNER PARTICIPANT’S SITES HERE ARE THEIR LINKS!! BUT GIVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME. I am already stalking a few of them….

  Centsational Girl | Chris Loves Julia | Christine Dovey | Dwell With Dignity | The English Room | Glitter Guide | House of Brinson | House Updated  | J+J Design Group | Lark & Linen | Abby Manchesky |Nesting Place | Old Brand New | Old Home Love | The Pink Pagoda | Rambling Renovators |Erica Reitman | Sketch 42 | Suburban B’s | Erin Williamson  Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by CIH

DO YOU LOVE LAMPS TOO? TELL ME WHO YOUR FAVORITES ARE AND WHERE YOU HAVE FOUND GREAT LIGHTING!!!! FEED MY OBSESSION!!!!

2015 SL IDEA HOUSE BUNNY WILLIAMS LAMP IN THE LIVING ROOM. One of my favorite things about this table that you CANNOT see and which made me love Bunny Williams even more is that she had a dog bed under it…I LOVE THAT!

THESE TWO very simple and inexpensive LAMPS WERE SOME OF MY most FAVORITES of all time. Our BOYS HAD THEM WHEN THEY SHARED A BEDROOM…they are FROM TARGET.

TATE (LEFT) COOPER (RIGHT) – THE “COLLECTION” LAMPS FROM THE BOYS BEDROOM ROOM! EACH BOY HAD A LAMP FILLED WITH HIS FAVORITE COLLECTIBLES…COOPER HAD HIS CARS AND TATE HAD HIS “GUYS”…I LOVED THESE!!!

I HOPE you will follow along…and  Be sure to subscribe to MY OLD COUNTRY HOUSE TO keep up with other Giveaways ( a BIG one is coming in April!)  and all the shenanigans we got going on!   Let’s get friendly on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

                                                           

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND THANK YOU FOR FOLLOWING ALONG!

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!!!XO

6 thoughts on “ONE ROOM CHALLENGE GUEST PARTICIPANT – WEEK THREE – MY LAMP OBSESSION

  1. We have a lamp problem around here too. My favorite source for lamps is a thrift store. I have my husband rewire them, plop a new shade on top and a “new” and unique lamp is in the room!

Comments are closed.