Oh...Give Me Some Shade!

A LAMP shade that is!

I have made you aware of my bedroom decorating dilemma (or, my multi-personalities' decorating dilemmas...) - now I will inform you of the fact that I'm having the same issues in my dining room! Well dang, you caught me, THROUGHOUT MY WHOLE HOUSE! There, I've said it - I'm admitting to it - I will probably address it again somewhere down the line...is there help out there for those who feel they have to TOTALLY re-do their house every few years? (really, couple of years, or yearly...who's keeping tabs?)

ANY.WAY! I burst into the 20th centry and kicked my china cabinet out of my dining room! Well, I turned it around the corner into the kitchen - but it's not the center of attention on my dining room wall anymore! It always bothered me for several reasons...

1. It was very traditional in style - I'm not.
2. The way the glass doors and side panels are situated almost made doing displays inside useless...couldn't really see the GORGEOUSNESS inside. (I love my dishes....all 38 place settings of mix-and-match styles/patterns... is there a 12 step program for dish hoarding following the decorating program?)

3. It was very "normal" - I'm not.

So what did I do? Grabbed the very "commercial" / "modern" chrome shelves out of my laundry room, painted the dining room walls, painted the trim and went to displayin' my dishes! (well, some of them...all of those place settings require the addition of 2 more shelves and I don't have room for that....) Throw in a "distressed" wooden box that my gorgeous child made for me, some vintage locker baskets, a wooden toolbox to house some platters, some tractor gears on top of the candle holders - and I have the perfect mix of "me"! There are still some finishing touches - tweaks to be made...

ONE being a lamp shade! Augh! So many choices, so many decorating personalities...and I'm not confessing to how many lamps I have the option of stealing the shade from. Might need to have a 3rd, 12-step program called "I can light up the World".

I have combed the endless regions of the internet, I have searched the pages of any magazines - I have wandered through my mother's house - looking for inspiration (well, and at my mother's house I was looking to see what I might need to take home.) Here are a few shades that I have found...

I like this one for the simple lines. But, I'm afraid that it won't get the correct "exposure" on a Homer-Laughlin china pattern inspired lamp. So...on the the next.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this one! Anything number, letterpress - TEXT related and I have it in my house (for example: the big E A T in the corner of my newly re-painted dining room!) Oh, and the WALL of letters, numbers and words that hold up my kitchen. LOL But, again, I don't think it is the right shade. (for that area anyway - but you never know where I might sneak it in... i'm cool like that. LOLOL)

Now, something like these wire beauties is RIGHT up my alley! AND - believe it or not - I have about 20 of them! Why you ask? I make them into pendant lights, or lamp shades, mannequin hats, or anything else that tickles my fancy...they are WAY cute with little salt & pepper shakers hanging from them! Oh, got off topic - about the shades...
I like these for the simplicity, the fun (and a little funky) and because - like my shabby chic, crystal laden off-white chandelier (hanging over my 1950's red and chrome dinette set... see? I make no sense, but my house is LOADS of fun!!!) - the wire shade could be changed with the seasons! Run some tiny sparkley fall leaves through it for fall, some vintage garland for Christmas, hang some tiny snow flakes for winter - and so on!

But then the OTHER part of me adores these GORGEOUS doily shades...so feminine and pretty and man, do I have the doilies! Some family hand-me-downs, some "i couldn't walk away without it at the garage sale" finds - some just jumped right out of my mother's house and into my bag while I was perusing the lamp shade possibilities...

So - when you are seeking shade, what style do you go for? Do you try to make it work just for the lamp or do you take into consideration the whole 8' wall? Do you need a china cabinet? I have one...

'Til the next time - I hope you have a WONDERFUL week-end, I'm going to find some shade...it's HOT HOT HOT in Texas!!!

Comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide...hee-hee

:-) robelyn

photos courtesy of:

country living, eravintage, skonahem.com

nice, http://www.carpeitem.blospot.com