Hidey Ho everyone!!  I am almost ashamed to show my face around these parts, what with all the CRAZY INSANE HUGE HELP you all were with my mondo-lamp dilemma last week.  Erin told me you dudes would be able to find the lamp of my dreams but she didn’t mention that you would find the 1,012 lamps of my dreams.  Seriously, it’s kinda amazing.  So amazing that I won’t let your hard work go for naught and instead will be rootin tootin your lamp finding skills today.  right here.  on this blog.  right now.

let’s go.

In case you’ve forgotten, I was looking for these million dollar lamps for (far less than) half of a a million pennies.

Here’s what you found:

Colleen, E. and NKP all have me drinking the kool-aide from team wo and we

Everything out of this French design house is amazeballz (do people still say that?) but the Applique Potence Industrielle Ajustable in particular is insane in the membrane.  (Ok, I know people no longer say that) and at 325 Euros, the price is pretty great too.

Commenter KVH pointed me to her friends studio: Yes Cincinnati

The Pivoting crane light is excellent at an even more excellent price (ahem!  $99 for the 3 foot model)  With a variety of sizes, I strongly encourage you lamp-hungry dudes to check it out pronto.

Elizabeth of Modern 24/7 sent me this (seriously you guys are really out doing yourselves)

The Anita lamp from KMP Furniture is a steal at $245 for EIGHTY INCHES of lamp.  It’s too big for my kitchen, but I feel like I could find a place for this somewhere.  It’s soooo gooood

Kate and Rye tipped me off to Atelier de Troupe, which is pretty badass all-around but wins gold stars for their a de t ‘potence’ bronze jib lamp

Oh yes, me likey.

MB from the Big D.  (That’s Dallas to you non-Texans B-T-dubs) pointed out that Restoration Hardware is sporting quite the lamp selection as well.  They have a flash site with embedded images so you’re going to have to go over there to see the lovelies there for yourself.  I’m too lazy to download and re-upload.  Sorry.  But I do LOVE the lights so it’s worth the mouse click.  promise.  Here and Here

Long-time-reader Alison of Lipstick on Your Teeth knows my test well and sent a link to workstead

they too have flashy images so you will have to cruise over after you’re done reading my brilliant and amazing post.  Worth it.  Totes.

Cassie, Rosenatti and NKP all gave a shout out to One Forty Three on Etsy:

Here is his totally amazing and totally affordable Potence Lamp as seen on The Brick House

Kathy at My Interior Life and Jenny over at My Favorite and My Best pretty much nailed it with this West Elm find:

Their Long-Arm Wall Sconce is simply awesome at only $99.

So which will I choose?  Hmmm… did I mention I’m even worse at making decisions than I am at finding lamps on my own?  Ok, I promise to keep you posted.

But for realz ya’ll, thanks for all the amazing links, every single one of you sent something fantastic.  Seriously, you’re simply the best.  better than all the rest.  better than anyone.  anyone I’ve ever met.

Hey All, it’s Karly!  I’ve come out from under the demolished-kitchen-shaped rock from which I’ve been hiding under to seek your renovation assistance.  Since I’m standing knee-deep in rubble over here and icky dust has settled in my brain, I’m having a hard time finding the light I’m lusting after at an affordable price.  But I know I can.  Despite the mess crumbling down around me I still hold strong to my motto:  I will buy it for half the price.  Also to my other motto:  no more horses.

So, can you help me or what?

I’m looking for a light sorta-kinda like this one.  It’s baby brother.  A wee bit shorter.  I have a very large window over my sink and want to mount a light like this on the wall beside it.  For less than $1,000,000 ok, less than $1,000.  who are we kidding, less than $10.

Certainly not $2,700, otherwise I would buy this:

Yes, this Serge Mouille light would do the trick if only it were (say it with me now) half of half of half of the price.  half it again.  yep, that should do it.

So, any ideas on where I can find something similar with a nice wingspan?  3 feet would be amazing.  okthanksbye

Monday, I want to murder you. The time change sucks nuts when you have a kid, our dishwasher is still broken, and I can’t for the life of me find the nail clippers. Seriously, how long does it take after moving to get all the odds and ends properly squared away? Last night I had to dig through boxes in the garage just to find my house shoes. I love me some isotoners — what about it? And to top it off, I am getting some weird blog crap when I log in while using Firefox. Has anyone out there noticed any funny business whilst cruising our blog?

Moving on, I’d like to say thanks for all your input about the fireplace. Right now I’m contemplating ripping half of it down (well not me personally, me = proxy = Matt), adding a proper mantle, and painting it white. Or maybe doing this here plaster job that Morgan left in the comments. I’m a little concerned that our floors are too rustic to do anything vaguely rustic with the brick… not that they are crazy rustic they just have a very Euro bare board look, knots and all.

Speaking of, I have found myself staring at the floors and wondering if I should have done this pickled finish instead:

No, right? I would hate it in five years, right????? Please say yes.

I have turned into a babbling idiot because I have too many decisions to make, mainly about the overall direction of this place. I think it boils down to this:

vs this:

Form driven modernist Stilnovo, or a more classically elegant deco look?

I think I have a preference, but I’d love to know what you think.

Update!  I am still totally in love with gold!  I thought that maybe I was leaving my go-to-gold-and-gray color palette for my new lover chrome-and-camel, and, don’t get me wrong, C & C is totally my boyfriend on the side but Gold remains my long term love.  We’re soul cell mates as my husband likes to say.  How was my burning desire for gold rekindled you ask?  I’m pretty sure it was the exact second I saw this puppy:

What is wrong with this picture?  Yeah, that’s right:  Nothing.  This example of walking / talking perfection comes from the design duo meier / ferrer

While this is most certainly enough to rekindle a waning romance, I knew my love was never really gone since I can’t seem to get this light out of my head:

The Sciolari ceiling light in Kelly Wearstler’s own home is nothing short of amazeballz.  I have a few personal spaces I’m working on right now and I want this light for all of them.

I will also be willing to settle for this gold gem.   (BTW thank you Andrea for the find!)

Although I think I’m going to have to forego the $4500 light and spring for something more like this.  It’s gold, I’ll be fine.

Oh!   I’ll especially be fine if it looks like this.  See, I really just will never get over gold.  And it is with every fiber of my being that I say: Yes, I absolutely would 100% live here:

Yep.  All over it.

And I’m wondering if this may have jumped one…

Y’all know I love me some Mouille (read all about it here), but this scares me… like it might rape me and eat my children while I sleep.

Just a thought. Agree? Disagree?

Have I just been reading too much Game of Thrones?

Happy end of Shark Week!

[via Hallie Burton]

While sifting through the New York Times slideshows yesterday, I came across a room from this slideshow that made my heart skip a beat:

The object of my love and affection?

The Patrick Townsend Orbit Light.  At only $300 I feel like I could give it a really good home if only the internet would put the black one up for sale.  All I can seem to find is white and grey.

On a side note, I realized that yesterday I did not link to either of the NYT slideshows I wrote about (thank you btw for all the amazing feedback, you dudes rock!) You can read about the yurt here and the sleepy time boring pad here.

See you dudes Monday!

I love things en masse.  Take something small and insignificant and multiply it by 100, suddenly you have an interesting collection.  Take something small and kinda cool, then multiply that by 1,000 and shape it into something awesome then, well, then you have a blog post. 

Scott Jarvie Recycled Straw Clutch Chair

Nendo Designed Fabric Scrap Cabbage Chair

Fully Loaded Chair made from shotgun shells by Alexander Reh (yes, I’ve blogged about this before here)

balloona stool confetti by natalie kruch for umbra made from 500 balloons

Tide Chandelier made from collection of man made debris washed up on Kent coastline by Stuart Haygarth

Tail Light Chandelier Also by Stuart Haygarth

Mr. Haygarth is pretty much the king of making things out of things, view his entire site here

Volivik 347, Bic Pen Chandelier by en Pieza

#2 Pencil Chandelier by Daisuke Hiraiwa Gallery via inhabitat

Today’s post has lots of gold, the dirtiest lamps you’ll ever see, and very little writing.  Let’s do this:

See!  What did I tell you?  At Your Command Lamps by Daniel Loves Objects

Bookcase From his  Of Wars Wits & Power Series

These Bookshelves remind me of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies.

I will give you a million dollars if you can guess what this is.  A humidifier!  Hello!  I really don’t need one of those here in Texas, but if Daniel ever comes up with a dehumidifier in gold, I will be first in line to checkout.

Daniel Loves Objects has lots of great goodies, you should go check them all out, I just chose to share the ones that were my favorite color.

I’m sorry I haven’t finished my top design post yet, I keep getting sidetracked with this pesky little thing called commonly referred to as “work.”  I was able to procrastinate earning an income long enough to read my 1st dibs newsletter, which put me in a state of deep deep desire.  The coveted objects?  These lights from antiques dealer Donzella LTD.:

Crystal and Brass Hanging Fixture by Fontana Arte

AND

Pair of Delta Parete wall-mounted lanterns by Sergio Mazza

I also probably need this:

Sculptural Table Lamp by Carlo Nason for Mazzega

Ok, back to work.  I PROMISE to have the top design round up of your life oh-so-soon

Right now I’m typing my fingers to the bone getting ready to bring you la Top Design post.  While I replay the nightmare like a satanic backward record over and over again, I try to bring myself back to my happy place:

getting better…

… Martha Stewart, who?…

ahhhh, yes.

I enjoyed Karly’s post on rough and tumble agrarian chic immensely, possibly because it might be the perfect foil for my new obsession: industrial chic. I know, we should stop using the word chic because it has the aura of class, and we all know that Klassy = Sarracuda t-shirts. If I once again employ the transitive property A=B and B=C, therefore A=C, then we can agree that chic is a very bad word indeed. Special brownie points and a gold star to anyone who can think of a better word than chic, but which also sounds good with agrarian and industrial. “Bravura” is not an acceptable submission.

It might help if I showed you some pictures, right?

Industrial light fixtures have been de rigeur in the kitchen since stainless took over as the metal of choice. The oversized pendant lights on the left evoke 30s/40s elegance in a thoroughly modern kitchen, while the (tiny picture of the) green wall-mounted beasties on the right from Desire to Inspire’s fab site are a little more turn of the 20th century.

Actually, get ready to see a lot of pics from Desire to Inspire because Kim is remodeling her own kitchen and she and I share similar taste in fixtures, including articulated lamps like the ones I posted about recently.

The Style Files also showcases some great kitchens, including this very simple one with gargantuan pendant lights:

Speaking of lights with titanic proportions, check out this baby from CB2:

She is very sexy, no? Like a polished fusilage or jet afterburner, whatever those things are. Too bad that rug is KILLING me. Too small, too red, too marled. Actually, I like marled things… I just had to add one more insult for a little bit of tertiary symmetry.

Time for some retail therapy:

Pendants and sconces and a SCISSOR lamp, oh my! All from Pottery Barn — seriously — except for the bottom left one, which is from Restoration Hardware.

I have a rabid scissor lamp fetish… start snatching them up where you can because people are getting fizzy over them on Ebay. I kind of think either super sleek or super crazy, like this funky green pair from Radio Guy:

Radio Guy has some awesome fixtures (plus a ton of really weird masks and mannequins) in a more turn of the century vein, and I can definitely get down with some old school shizz, like these cage lights from Rewire.

Hotness! These are from 1915-1920, and Rewire says they’re shown with Edison bulbs. Can you even buy those anymore??? (Totally unnecessary aside: maybe they should be called Tesla bulbs, since Edison was such a damn dirty thief…) Whereas the 30s/40s sleek chrome fixtures would be fabulous with more rustic materials, I think these antique fixtures need a more modern backdrop to give them bite.

Par example, check out this hot number via Desire to Inspire:

Perfect combination of all that is good: bare natural materials in conjunction with clean hard lines, and to accessorize: THE MOST AMAZING LAMP EVER (check check and checkmate).

Bongiorno, I am the the most amazing lamp EVER, designed by maestro Mariano Fortuny in 1907. Yes, that Mariano Fortuny. I may be over 100 years old, but I look as fresh as a newborn babe, and I represent all that is holy and good in the lighting universe. As a matter of fact, even though I was originally designed with theatrical and photographic industries (wink, wink!) in mind, I am so hot that no one would dare think of hiding me behind a curtain. Because I’m hot. And Italian. And expensive. And did I mention hot?

There’s no topping that. But I shall press on bravely.

Some more inspiring images via Desire to Inspire, soon to be followed by a veritable onslaught of retail lighting goodness.

Floor lamps that aren’t as cool as the Fortuny, but we can’t all be gazillionaires: Clockwise from the top left we have Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn (!), Chiasso (that hunk of steel is over 6 feet tall), and Pottery Barn (again!!).

And for those of us that aren’t even thousandaires (thanks, Reaganomics!), even Ikea has some good lights with game:

Wouldn’t it be cool if that sconce were really that big? Like four feet tall? Wouldn’t it also be cool if it took a regular bulb instead of a halogen one???

You all know by now that I’m partial to brass and gold, but maybe I’ll take my cue from fashion and mix and match metals with abandon.

All lamps from Circa Lighting, which is fast becoming a favorite, except for the top right, which is from CB2 (another perennial provider).

Even Sundance is busting out with goodies, like this Luminary Lamp. Yeah. Sundance

Stay tuned for my next post on Friday, where I fully intend to cover industrial furnishings that are totally unrelated to lighting. Because in my world, there are only two categories: lighting and not lighting. In the meantime, try not to get too overwhelmed by all of the choices out there and end up like this guy:

Electricity is dangerous, and something tells me he may want to step away from the wires.

(via pan-dan)

Because I know that you want to see some cheer and loveliness, rather than just the mean snarky top design review that I usually post on thursday, I want to introduce you to the lamps that I am currently coveting:

and it’s sedate fraternal twin:

both lamps are by Thout design and I must must have the top one.  Now, do I want 2 for my bedroom or for the guest room?  White?  Black?  My head is spinning.

If you really want to see some hardcore light porn, you best get over to if the lampshade fits.  like, now.

Don’t worry, Top Design review is just around the corner