We needed new lighting for the new family room, so a pair of lights was in order since we don't have any overheads. I wanted something with some color, like in my inspiration board. Since I am a total cheap-o through and through, I just cannot bring myself to pay full price for anything. But shopping at discount stores and in clearance sections means you usually have to visit a few times before you find what you're looking for...if you find it at all. Sometimes I just go with the flow, and even if I had a "vision" for something else in my head, I'll edit it to fit my new really cool find. And really, it usually ends up being even better than what I wanted in the first place. Cue the lamps!
Cute, no? One week while on our way to the close-proximity grocery store, B and I stopped into HomeGoods, which if you live under a rock is the home-centric version of TJ Maxx. I guess you could call me a Maxxinista, haha. We saw these bad boys (or girls?) in the lighting section, and they immediately caught our eyes.
They kind of have a faceted jewel-like thing going on, which I lurve. And which happens to be kind of popular right now. I just saw a similar lamp at West Elm for $199. Ouch. The shades are turquoise with silver insides, and the white bases have a clear lucite plastic bottom. I wasn't crazy about the clear lucite plastic bases (and finials) at first, but they're growing on me. B probably still hates them.
One thing I've found since purchasing our no-overhead-lighting house is that lamps are so. expensive. Or maybe I'm just used to estate sale prices. TJ Maxx usually has some great prices on their merch, but I still felt most pieces in the lighting department were a little pricey. If you can't tell from the photo, those lamps were originally $70 each. Each! I would never have paid that, and even at 50% off I was a little hesitant. In real life they feel just a little small to light the entire room on their own...so we left the lamps to live at HomeGoods for another week while we contemplated.
It sounds silly, but I couldn't get my mind off those lamps! I stopped at a few other stores to compare the wares, and I just kept going back to those lamps. I originally wanted to paint the bases and go with white shades, but for now these are staying just how they are. You can kind of tell in the photo above, but the bottom of the shade was starting to come apart on the inside. I tried to get a little discount, but the girl at the register wasn't having it. She said they don't give a discount when the damage came to them that way. Umm, did you personally unpack the box and see the shade like that? I bet you didn't you liar!! I didn't fight back because I knew it was a battle I wasn't going to win. I was pleasantly surprised when B pointed out how the faceted shapes of the lamp base mimic the chevron pattern of the rug. I mean, I know he's a designer too but he's also a dude. And he was right, which made me love the lamps even more.
To remedy the lamps feeling slightly too small, I stacked some books underneath them to give them a little more height on the back of the sofa table. Helps distribute the light a little more and brings some more color into the room. Win win!
Two weeks later do you think I've cut the tags off yet?
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