Tag Archives: antique

How to Decorate With Antique Lamps

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There is nothing that adds more elegance and automatic ambience to a room’s décor than an antique lamp. They are fantastic objects to have in a dining room or living room because they not only make a personal statement about you but because they are great conversation pieces. There is nothing like a 1930s big chandelier with large drops of ice hanging from it to help break the ice with your dinner companions.

One of the most interesting antique lamp fads that is around lately is the passion for chandeliers made out of deer antlers. These date back as far as the 1890s and straight through to today. They were standard lamp fixtures in medieval times in Europe (as they do have a bit of a pagan flair to them) but they are also considered to be part of American and Canadian furniture kitsch.

However keep in mind that when you buy one of these deer chandeliers that it is not always that politically correct. Some unscrupulous dealers are selling this type of thing on eBay as being made out of found antlers when what they have done is take the antlers off of live deer. This is a big ecological no-no.

Yet another very popular type of kitsch antique lamp that is being manufactured right now is the “Sexy Leg Lamp.” This is the lamp that was featured in the movie “The Christmas Story.” It consists of a plastic molded ladies leg wearing a black high heel and it is topped with a shade that looks like a burlesque dancer’s skirt. If you have one of these in your home, your guests are sure to point out that “you have the same lamp that Ralphie’s Dad does.”

A kind of lamp that is getting harder and harder to find but used to be a common sight on top of television sets all over the world is the classic ceramic black panther that is topped with a shade made from paper pressed with glitter.

Perhaps the most popular of the antique lamps are the lava lamps. It is getting harder and harder nowadays to find a real lava lamp from the fifties or sixties. The knock offs that can be had for twenty dollars and be bought in a hardware store are simply not as nice as the ones you find on eBay or in antique shops. This is because the newer replicas tend to be a lot smaller then the original lava lamps that were sometimes tall enough to reach your knee. They also often contain glitter instead of the “lava” and their design is not as nice. If you manage to find a real lava lamp from the fifties then the design from the Atomic Age is certain to become a conversation starter.

How to Decorate With Seventies Style Tiffany Lamps

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Tiffany Lamps can add a seventies touch to your décor. Even a really modern white and orange plastic mod seventies look can be augmented by a tiffany glass simply because the “surprise” of something out of date is part of the entire 70s look – like something out of a Stanley Kubrick movie. Also tiffany lamps had a real heyday in the 1970s and were a hot lamp (no pun intended.) They were widely sought after collectibles during that time and also that was the decade when many factories opened up to start making reproduction Tiffany lamps. These reproductions are easily identified because the way the glass is cut is more reminiscent of the type of broad and curvaceous shapes that you would see in something like the Beatles animated movie “Yellow Submarine.”

Tiffany style lamps were also very much a part of the country styles of décor that were popular in the seventies. They went well with stuffed brown couches and octagonal shaped side tables. Many gaudier examples of tiffany lamps were seen hanging by big looped cords over dining room tables in seventies color schemes such as orange and brown or mustard and green. At the time these types of tiffany lamps could be picked up for ten bucks at a mall but nowadays they can be worth a small fortune so if you have one in your garage you might want to consider putting it up on e-Bay.

The nice thing about a Tiffany lamp, no matter what era it is from, is that it can reflect little coin or diamond shaped shards of light that can end up on your wall. This gives any room a very cozy and elegant touch. Tiffany lamps are also very nice to read by as the light from them is bright, but has a soft quality. Tiffany lamps also look best in a dark corner where they can shine in their full glory.

The less clutter that is around a Tiffany lamp the better it looks. Most have very elegant lamp bases as well that are reminiscent of flower stems or curved like swan’s necks.

By the way if you are a woman and you want to make yourself look younger, try putting a tiffany lamp with a pink themed lampshade on your bedroom table. This will shed a soft pink glow that will make you appear more youthful.

Depending on what you pair the lamp with the room can look neo-modern, countrified or like you have a real appreciation for antiques.