Recently, I changed up our family  room.  I did it super thrifty, just adding paint, moving furniture, slipcovering my sofa {with the help of 12 friends}, added striped window mistreatments {just fabric from Mary  Jo’s} to my windows, using a few yard sale pieces and changing the lighting.

These lamps turned out to be the statement pieces of the whole room.  They demand attention when you walk in. They were a splurge for me at $80 a piece.  Luckily, one was a little damaged so I got a discount.  Then, I read what Janell found at Overstock and realized that those were my lamps with different shades for $125–I got a great deal!

I have another pair of shapely lamps in our front room.  Again, they steal the show.   Since that room is full of yard sale, and thrift finds, it would be easy for it to lean too country or too rustic or too thrown together.  A pair of slightly modern lamps with drum shades really helps to balance out the room.

Almost impossible to get a photo with both lamps in it but, still, having a touch of ceramic up to date loveliness helps keep this room looking current.   Getting new lamps is much less expensive than replacing a rug or a sofa.

Next to our sofa, I needed a shorter lamp.  All the lamps I had were too tall and when you sat at the sofa, you could look up straight into a blinding light bulb.  I hate that.  I like this lamp because it adds a pop of a different shade of blue, it’s short and squatty, it’s base is substantial and looks like pottery and, the drum shade helps to balance out my more country pieces and can so easily be recovered if I ever get tired of it.

I’ve got a pair of bird lamps in my office.   Again, I think they are the first thing you look at when you walk in.   Show stealer attention hogs.  Something as simple as a pair of lamps can really add personality and fun into a room.  These lamps started out in my boys rooms, then went in the family room and finally found their rightful throne in the Nesting Place office.  Why’d it take me so long to realize that bird lamps needed to be in my office?

I found this big huge lantern and stuffed it with some oversized plastic lights.  Lighting doesn’t just have to be practical, it can be fun and pretty too.

A pair of turquoise lamps found a home in the guest room.  I love to have a lamp next to the bed.  The better to read with my dear.

This lamp I found at the thrift store lets me add what ever kind of personality I want.  I could fill the base with legos or wrenches or even set a plant under that glass.

Just about every room can benefit from the warm light, added character and style that a lamp brings.  And lamps are such an inexpensive way to instantly change, update, add personality to a room.  You can replace a shade, paint the base, or recover the shade, all quick ways to update the item that can quickly update or change the feel of your space.

The power of lamps is too often overlooked.

More of my lampy ramblings::

Decorating with Lamps

Lamps and Sofa Tables

Using Lamps in Your Home::A Must {oh how it pains me that the comments all disappeared from this post when the blog moved–it was so fun to read how many lamps you all had–I think a few of you had close to 40!}

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