Tuesday, March 5, 2019

choosing lamps for the bedroom


Hello, friends! It's been way too long. I think this seemingly never-ending winter has gotten to me. I've had no desire to write a blog post. I've noticed on Blogland in general, new postings have been way down since January. Perhaps everyone feels the same way...just kind of blah and waiting for spring. On top of it, the past few weeks I've had really bad back pain. I'm prone to it. I have three herniated disks and if I don't keep active with walking and yoga, my back hurts. This time, it's been my left hip, along with spasms in my buttock. I guess I'm my own pain-in-the-a**. Anyway, my wonderful yoga instructor is also a massage and bodywork therapist, plus she's in school for physiology. I saw her last week for bodywork and she worked on me for two hours! I'm doing better since then and following instructions of self-care. And doing more walking. Walking feels good. Since it's still so darn cold here, when I run errands, I walk the entire store instead of just going straight to what I need. I've also been back on my treadmill - boring, but necessary. My worst time is sleeping when I try to roll over to the other side. My hip doesn't like that. And when I get out of bed in the morning, I get the spasms. It could be some arthritis in my hip. It's so fun getting old. (Insert random photo of blissed-out cat because no one wants to see photos of hips or treadmills.)


On to better stuff. As I've said before, I take forever to get a room put together the way I really like it. We've needed new lamps for our bedroom for years and it was just something I never got around to. I finally got tired of looking at mismatched lamps that were also the wrong size. I wasn't sure exactly what size lamps to buy for our bedside tables, so I turned to my best friend, Google. Several professional interior design sites said to measure your nightstands - mine are 27" tall - and that your lamps should be 2-3" higher than your nightstand. That would mean I would need lamps that were 29 - 30" tall. So I headed to HomeGoods and found 29" lamps that I thought would look good in our bedroom.



Wrong. Too overwhelming. Too much white. I felt like when I walked into our small bedroom, all I noticed were the lamps. Back they went.

Then I tried Target. I like that you can buy the base and shade separately. They also have frequent 15-20% off sales on lighting, so that was a bonus. Lamps are expensive! This time I chose a beige base with a gray shade. Wrong again. I felt the lamps were simply too big and overwhelming; that the base looked like pineapples; and the gray shades clashed with the wall color. Back they go to Target.


Third time's a charm! For starters, I went with a medium-sized lamp instead of a large. I liked the clear base, so I got those again. And when looking at shades, I found these white ones with a silver swirl. They're not as stark as plain white and the silver goes well with the wall color. You're not going to believe where I got these lamps: Meijer grocery store, of all places! Just like withTarget, you can pick your base and shade separately. And luck would have it, they were having a buy one, get the second one 1/2 off sale. 


 The only thing that's driving me nuts is the stickers on the base. Why do stores have to do this? I started picking at the sticker with my thumb nail and it barely chips away. I mean, these are stuck on good. I turned to Google once again and I see there's ways of getting stickers off acrylic, so I'll have to try some of the ideas and see what works.

 


Where have you had luck finding lamps?



20 comments:

  1. Well your taste in lamps is right on. Third pair are just right. I too have fallen off the blog bandwagon. I just can't seem to write at this time in my life. My aging body is hurting also. I have bursitis and boy does it hurt. Wishing you wellness and hoping Spring will make us all feel better!

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  2. Very nice! I would have chosen the same ones that you did! So pretty.

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  3. I like the lamps you ended up with. I try using veggie oil on the stickers....

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  4. I find lamps at either Target or Home Goods. OH and IKEA but it can be hit or miss there.
    I have a serious lamp problem in that I am addicted to them the way some people are to shoes or purses.
    I have four lamps in my storage unit now just waiting for a home.
    Come to my basement and shop. :)

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  5. I need to find new lamps for our bedroom, but first we are going to paint. Ours are so old, one is falling apart. I have found some nice, solid lamps at Penney's. They have a huge selection online, but I prefer to go to the store. Good to hear your back pain is improving bit by bit. I think we'll all feel better when we can get outside for some exercise and fresh air.

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  6. Hi, Mel! We've been dealing with the everlasting cold weather here, too. It truly affects your joints and muscles. It sounds like you are having sciatica issues with your hip, back and buttocks. I get this a lot. I've been going to a chiropractor for 7+ years now, and thankfully the stretches they showed me (many of them are yoga stretches) and the adjustments they do on me really help. Many times I can keep my pain away for months. Walking is good. As a friend once told me "motion is the lotion"! I hope you're feeling better and that it warms up soon!!

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  7. I always try thrift stores first, lamps can be spray painted if they are not the right color.

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  8. It's always fun to add pretty new things to our homes and these lamps are lovely.
    Thank you for your blogging friendship and for your thoughts and prayers.
    Connie :)

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  9. I got my lamps in a few places when I furnished my house - Home Goods, Wayfair, Overstock....your new lamps are lovely, but I honestly liked the first ones too. I hear ya on the aches and pains, sister....my left hip has been bothering me and my right knee that I had rebuilt a few years back gives me problems...when I sit for long periods of time (like in my office) I look like an old lady when I get up and hobble to the door!

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  10. I hate shopping. The lamps you settled with are pretty.

    Your two hour body/massage/workout by your therapist sounds fantastic!!!

    Hang in there, spring will be to you pretty soon.

    FlowerLady

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  11. Three times is the charm. Love the third pick of lamps. They are the perfect size and very pretty. I hope you back and hip are doing better. Nothing worse than being in pain and trying to get life underway each day. Keeping prayers and good thoughts the yoga and help from your massage will get you to a better place. We need nice weather so we can get the heck out of our house and walk more outside. I am going stir crazy with not being able to walk on my foot that much. That is hard to be cooped up and not be able to put a lot of weight on my foot. Each day gets a little better. Let's hope we see Spring after this weekend.
    Hugs,
    Kris

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  12. Love your lamps and those shades are perfect. Lighter fluid works like magic to remove stickers and is not abrasive. I have never smoked but have kept lighter fluid for this purpose for many years.

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  13. I have the same lamp problems - and I don't like the places that sell base and shades separately because I am TERRIBLE at matching them. I just got two beautiful orange lamps for my navy dining room on AllModern!

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  14. I sympathize with you on the back issues. Not fun! Good to hear that your yoga instructor has been able to help you. My lower back, buttocks and sciatica let me know when I'm sitting for too long. A good balance of walking and sitting seems to work out best for me.
    It was fun to see the process you went through to pick out your lamps. I think looking at them in photos really helps to critique one's choices. I think you made the right choice. I love the lampshades too. I have had my best luck with finding lamps at HomeGoods. Also found a few at a local consignment shop. The only drawback there is that if you don't like them they can't be returned. Luckily mine worked out. I have had luck getting stickers off with Goof Off.

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  15. I love your lamps. That sticker thing drives me nuts, too. I am sorry to hear about your back. I know what you mean, I get stiff when I don't move either. I park far, always bring my cart back to the little kiosk, take the long way around the store, but I should do more. My doctor told me I have to get better at the self care, it's not my strong suit.

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  16. Glad to see you here.
    Sorry you are having back problems Melanie - I'm in total agreement regarding the aging process - it really is not fun when everything hurts. I'm still having right shoulder pain after weeks of PT. Then had an injection which worked well for a few weeks but pain is back a bit - sleep is disturbed and it does hurt in the morning until I get moving. Hope you do better soon when your cold weather changes.

    Kitty looks totally blissful. No treadmills, they say as we age short spurts of intermittent walking and exercise - such as you are doing around the store - is better than pounding out miles on a treadmill. Of course, you are much younger than me - I'm going with the spurts around the house and garden, and on warm days a longer walk outdoors.

    Nice choice of lamps - I actually liked them all. My bedside lamps do not match perfectly - both are white ceramic 'ginger jar' shaped classic bases from Laura Ashley from a long time ago. I made my lampshades also years ago, similar swirled chiffon over silk, but different trims. My tables don't match either, one came with the bedroom set. They are different heights (probably a no-no to real interior decorators out there!), the other is vintage sewing machine table which I painted off-white. A major gripe of many - those darned hard to remove labels - Goo Gone Spray Gel to the rescue!

    Feel better soon - Mary

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  17. Your new lamps look lovely in the room! I'll have to remember the formula for choosing the right size! So sorry to hear about your back and hip pain, Melanie...no fun. Hope you are doing better soon!

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  18. I like your new lamps. Mine in my bedroom are old with stained glass shades. The light isn't all that hot from them but they are pretty. Look up www.t-tapp.com, it is the very best gentle workout for bad backs. I should do it everyday but run out of time even though the short version is only 15 minutes. It is how I rehabbed my back many years ago from disk issues.

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  19. I'm so sorry to hear about your back pain!I've had a few episodes in the past of that kind of hip pain and it hurts. I'm glad you were able to get some relief from your session with your yoga instructor. I guess that walking is even one more reason for you to be wanting nice weather soon. You deserve it after the winter you've had there!

    I like all your lamp tries! You sure did put in the work on finding the right one for you and they're very pretty with your gray walls and the beautiful headboard. [I know there's one particular essential oil that my daughter-in-law uses to get stickers off--senior memory keeps me from telling you which one!] And those are from the grocery store? Must be a humdinger of a grocery store!

    I started thinking about our lamps and realized that most of them are from thrift stores or antique stores. We do still have three Aladdin oil lamps that we turned to electric ones. They were Christmas gifts from friends eons ago when the husband worked at Aladdin, the oil lamp company. The one on my bed table is one of them with a brass base and a dogwood china shade and I did look recently for a replacement as I needed it to be taller for easy reading in bed. I ended up just putting a stack of books under it. I guess my favorite lamp is now on my desk but I've used it in different places in different houses. It has a large china base with the top like a many petalled rose and I spotted it in my sister's high end consignment store about 10 years ago, fell in love with it and ended up receiving it as a birthday gift from her. It took a whole large rubber trashcan to pack it in for moving, surrounded by pillows, not even counting the large shade.

    I hope your weekend there is a nice one and that it hasn't come with a blizzard forecast,
    Dewena

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