If you’re looking for fun lighting ideas for your kids’ rooms, you might have fun browsing the children’s lamps over at Land of Nod. It’s a whole online store devoted to children’s furniture, and I of course was drawn to the lighting section. They have a couple dozen different lamps to choose from, including some fun chandeliers (one features daisies). Both boys and girls themes are represented.
Though home improvement projects are very popular, they also tend to be expensive. Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, jetted tubs and steam showers… these things all costs thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) of dollars to install. I think that’s why I like lighting. Lamps are relatively inexpensive, when compared to other home purchases, yet they can go a long ways in giving personality to your home. Plus they make it easier to see things in the dark too…
If you’re looking for a deal on table lighting, this Caprice lamp is available at several online web sites for less than $100. There’s a floor lamp and a table lamp version (the one in the picture obviously being from the table lamp camp). They both have the same three-arm top with the whimsical frosted glass sconces.
There are all sorts of interesting lamps, sconces, lanterns, etc. you can find online, so make sure to browse the Internet when you’re looking for lighting ideas.
Looking for a unique ceiling lamp to brighten up the dining room? This Agave Sphere Lamp from Design Within Reach would look impressive over just about any dining room table. As the site says, “Designers Rossi and Tedesco set out to create an energy-efficient fixture that was also technically and aesthetically sophisticated. The result is the modular Agave Lamp, a ribbed, radial structure made of acrylic and resembling the rosette of an agave plant. The Agave produces a light as clear as tequila (which comes from the plant) and optimizes light distribution, whether throughout a room or over a table top.” And it looks neat too… 
And don’t think this baby just puts out regular white light. The ceiling lamp comes with 3 colored light filters, which give you a total of 9 shades of light you can choose from. Thus you can customize the lamp to suit the mood for any dinner party.
The price for this lamp? It’s on sale for $350: DWR
Okay, now that I’ve started a log home blog, I’ve been looking at a lot of rustic and log-inspired furnishings. This moose antler wall sconce is about as rustic as you can get, and I’m not sure anyone outside of Alaska could actually get away with having this on the walls. Maybe in some remote wilderness cabin somewhere it would work…. Even then, the eagles painted on the corners of the antlers are a little over the top. You’ll pay for this outdoorsy lighting too: $650. And that’s just for one. If you want the pair, you’ll have to pay double that. Since I’m not decorating a log home just yet, I think I’ll stick to my cheap Ikea lamps.
If the point of the Knapp Klover floor lamp is to take up as much space on the floor as possible, then the folks at Ikea have it just right. With a diameter of 28″ this lamp is too big to even get your arms around (not that I spend a lot of time hugging my light fixtures, mind you). I suppose it is a nice alternative to all those tall, gangly floor lamps that require the 50-100-150W bulbs. This lamp takes an energy-saving 11 W bulb, so I guess it’s more for mood lighting than reading. For those of us condo dwellers though, it may be a bit on the big side for a “mood light.” I guess it’s for people with plenty of floor space. The price is $70, and the lamp isn’t available online, so you’ll have to trek to the nearest Ikea if you’re interested.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got some really boring ceiling lamps. I’ve pimped out my table lamps and floor lamps, but I haven’t done anything with the ceiling fixtures yet (I’ve got the ones that came with the place, yawn, boring) because I’m short and it looks like more work to switch out ceiling lamps. But someday it must be done, and I’d love to have some fun fixtures like this glass confetti lamp. Here’s a blurb from the site on how they’re made: “Fused glass shades are custom made from strips of special colored glass assembled onto a flat sheet and slowly fused together into one sheet of glass. This piece is then cut, sanded and returned to the kiln to be slumped into a bowl or sconce shape.”
Here’s a cute gift idea for the fisherman (or fisher-woman) in your family: the Fisherman’s Lamp has a fishing hat for a lamp shade, and little fish are hanging on lines off the rim (I assume they’re fake fish!). A hooked trout is the on/off switch.
As mentioned, I think it would be a fun gift, and it’s only $15, so you don’t have to make a big investment. Available from Collections, Etc., it’s one of several interesting lamps and quirky home decorations at the site. The Fisherman’s lamp takes a 40 watt bulb and stands 28 inches tall.
Well, I’ve heard of Armani suits, of course, but since I don’t travel in upscale circles, I wasn’t too familiar with their other products. I like this lamp though, one of several you can check out at the Armani/Casa web site. They also have furniture, rugs, tableware, and gift and decorating ideas (there were some pretty sleek candles in that section, so I may have to blog about one of those later). As you’d expect, their prices aren’t listed on the web site. I’m sure you have to find a reseller in order to find out what a lamp like this would cost, but I’m just going to assume it’s out of my price range. I mean… come on: it’s Armani.
I’ve heard of a swizel stick before but not a swizel table lamp. I guess that’s as good a term as any to explain this nifty lamp from HomeClick however. Designed by Eurofase, the 21 inch tall lamp is made from clear, mouth-blown glass in the shape of a “frosted inner tulip.” It only takes a 20 Watt bulb, so I’m guessing it’s not the best lamp for reading by, but if you’re just looking for a unique light fixture that can create some mood lighting in your living room, this one is a fun find. The decorative swizel (I just can’t keep from using that word) table lamp is just under $120.
I’ve posted about light fixtures from AmeriTech Lighting before (if not on this blog, another). Something about their stuff just grabs me. They have a lot of cool wall fixtures, such as this “MetaRamics” sconce (I think that’s code for a mix of metal and ceramic in the design, but don’t quote me on that). According to the description on the site, this one is sandstone finished with a pewter metal framework. I think a couple of these lamps would look good lining a hallway. By the way, the wall light takes a standard 100 watt bulb (usually, I fall for something funky that takes a bulb size you’d never find in your local grocery store). You can’t buy the lamp on their site (though I’m sure there are lots of distributors on the Internet), so there’s no word on price.