Last weekend I made it out of the house!! wahooo (I really do just hibernate after I have a baby.) I headed to the "DC Flea Market" in Chantilly with one of my best friends, Lindsey. We CONQUERED that place in 3 hours: Power-walking & bargaining till it closed. But my first find of the day was LOVE: This awesome 1950s Faux Bois Lamp!
When I saw it at first I smiled. It looked a little tacky as things surrounded by mounds of other things often do at flea markets... but it piqued my interest. I took another look at it started to imagine it in the right setting (errr my house ;)... It had that quirky element I love and the turquoise leaves were perfect for our family room. It was interesting & unique & overscaled and I knew it could be beautiful! (AND I've been looking for a lamp to replace the temporary tiny one in the family room that belongs in the baby's nursery.)
At first the 3 shades kind of threw me off. We don't really see much of this anymore. But again, this is part of what attracted me to the lamp. And I love the stars on the shade... It's beautiful when lit but I coudn't get a good photo of it. The lamp was marked at $65, but I very nicely asked the dealer what his best price was and he kindly dropped it to $50. SOLD. I did a little research on faux bois and any faux bois over 50 years old is considered an antique & is highly collectible if it's in good condition. yay! I wonder if I got a deal?
The faux bois is a fun play on all the real driftwood we have in our family room like this huge cypress root by dad found while fishing in Georgia:
My "end table" next to the sofa is actually a console table standing in until the right piece comes along & attacks me at another flea market or thrift store. To get the lamp at the right height and to keep it from receeding below the arm of the shelter sofa, I piled a few books under it. The artwork above the sofa is a growing collection of flea market & thrift store paintings I've been collecting.
I know it's not a piece that's to everyone's taste, but I'm so happy with it!! It''s such a unique & personal find and I love incorporating accessories like this into a room. Our family room is a fun, playful place & nothing in it should be taken too seriously. (My cousin was over with her new boyfriend the other night & he looked around the room and said, "This is a fun color." The first words out of my mouth were, "Who told you to say that?!" and looked accusingly at my husband & cousin. Both shook their heads in innocence and I realized he'd come up with it all on his own. = Best compliment ever because that's exactly what I'd assured my skeptical husband about the wall color before it went up & what I've been going for in this room all along! ;) One last little pic of my lamp. I repeat: I LOVE LAMP.
Have a great weekend & keep sending me your Project 2 Closet pics!! Thank you- I LOVE seeing your takes on the projects!!
xoxo,
lauren
ps- Sofa: discontinued Restoration Hardware Sofa
As a decorator & a textile designer, this is my place to muse... perfection doesn't interest me; Reality and charm do. Fresh floppy flowers from the garden over long-stemmed roses any day, I love it when things are slightly off and tell a story. 
43 comments:
This makes me smile just looking at it too - it's fun! I'm sure it would be adorable in the nursery - but I love it right where it is now!
haha, I love your post title.
I think it's the perfect lamp for your room....great find!
LeAnn
I love post - about this lamp!! this baby was clearly meant for you as your reward for getting out of the house - well done. I am covetous and really need to learn how to do this flea market thing - cause I think this is the most adorable lamp ever and a great deal too!
Fantastic find, Lauren. I love a quirky lamp! I've been lamp shopping myself recently and, boy, are there a lot of bad ones out there. You scored though. Beautiful room too, btw.
I love the lamp!!
I love this lamp! The turquoise accents really make it unique. I can see why it spoke to you.
Sounds like you had a fantastic day with your friend flea marketing. Is there anything more fun? --Delores
I think it works really well with what you have going on!
Oh, I can't wait to hit the flea markets in the spring! I wasnt able to make it all last year so for now Im just dreaming of finding treasures like this. Looks great!
That IS a fun color! And a fun lamp!! I like the 3 shades - definitely a retro style, but kind of cool!
this is exactly the sort of thing that i would've just walked on by without a second thought. i think it looks adorable in your home and reminds me to keep an open mind when flea marketing! thanks lauren!
Great LAMP! And the shade is the PERFECT QUIRK!!! Such luck!! Thank you for sharing!!
I love it! It is so quirky and different, which makes it that much more fun! You found the perfect spot for it too- what a score!
great find! wow. wish my adventures in thrifting were as lucky. that is a true score!
:)
very cool. love the shade{s}!
i love lamp too! great find. makes such a statement.
Love the lamp...you did good!
I love it! Great find.
Lauren, what a fun find. I remember those lampshades being from the fiftys. I think you found a treasure just because you love it. I think calling your room fun is a great compliment. Kathysue
It is hard to resist a good lamp! I discovered your fabulous blog recently and have been keeping up with you in my reader--when I saw your lamp, I knew I had to leave a comment. :) Last year I scored two identical faux bois lamps with their vintage fiberglass shades--and store tags still on!!!! I almost hate to tell you...for $25 for the PAIR. I was so excited to find them in a dusty junk shop--even though my husband didn't share the joy. :(
Hooray that you found some time to get out and shop. And congratulations on the new bebe!
I've been on a blog break but am starting up again with a relaunch this spring. Until then, I'm just playing around, getting my feet wet. :)
Enjoy that awesome lamp!
I've been reading your blog for a while now and love it. As someone who is in finance by day but secretly loves all things design and fashion, it's one of my go to blogs. And I live in DC, so it's neat to read someone's blog who lives in the area. Anyway, I love the lamp, and I love the DC flea market (I went to the one in November after reading about it on your blog and found a fantastic vintage green coat and antique diamond ring...see, fashion). But what I really want to comment about is your post title and how much I hope it is a reference to Anchorman. Such a great movie and oh so quotable. Congratulations on the new baby (I mean it, although I feel a little creepy saying it, as if I'm a stalker...knowing personal things about people from the internet is still new for me)!
I'm in love with that lamp! It looks fantastic in your house!
Great find! No such luck thrifting anything from where I am in Australia :( I will live through you haha!
What a great score! Had I been at that table we would have had a bidding war, lol. Enjoy!
Oh, it is fun! And, I love the shade...the stars just make it!
so cute. great find.
It is definitely you! I love it! And doesn't it look just adorable and perfect right where it is!!
Thrifting is like good medicine for your soul. Great finds and perfectly placed.
Ruthie
Lauren thank you so much for taking the time to visit my new blog. I am glad you are enjoying it. Oh how I wish I could be holding that new baby,nothing like it. Amazing you can type and cuddle at the same time,Kathysue
i love this lamp and it looks perfect in that spot in that room. my rule of thumb when thrifting is this: if something smacks you in the face and your first thought is tacky/ugly/hideous, stop and study it. that's the way things call out to us! what a find. and to get the shade in such good shape is so lucky too. i love anything faux bois. i think you got yourself quite a deal!
* What a FUN "TURN-ON"! (Pardon the semi-pun!)!!!
My AUNT (a known, verrry tres chic "arteeeest"!) had some lamps quite SIMILAR to this waaaay back when~~~ I just thought "Maybe THIS is where I fell in love with funky faux!!!"... cuz I ADORED her REEEAL sense of "unsafe" flair!!!
Sweetie- it's MAHHHHHVELOUS!!!!!!!!
XOXOX to lil' man (OK, & you & "big man", too!)~~~
XO,
Linda in AZ *
bellesmom1234@comcast.net
*P.S. As I was exiting I saw what "JAZ@OCTOBERFARM" (above me) said~~~ no truer words were ever said, kiddo~~~~ at least "GOOOD RULE of THUMB, IMHO!!!! XO)
First, going to the flea market sounds LIKESOMUCHFUN!!!! Second, it looks perfect in the living room and I love how it ties in with the driftwood on the other wall. Also, love how the leaves tie in with the color of your walls - don't you just love when it all comes together so perfectly!!! Happy new lamp to you!!! xoxoTrina
I love it! Fun and quirky, unique and personal. And definitely a conversation starter. I have the very same blanket and a couple of oversized pillows as well.
Oh Lauren, I love your lamp - you have such a great eye. We have dreadful antiques shops here (mostly) and today I went to a dreadful flea market and everything was madly overpriced but there were some gems - it does help to try to picture them in your FAB house to imagine how much better they would look not surrounded by junk. : )
Great score!!!! xo cousin T.
P.S. Glad you got out! : )
I think it is fun!!! I am not sure I would have had the vision to see it working in my house but you are making it work:) You really are good at what you do!
what a great shade !! le
It looks fabulous in your space! I'm such a coward when it comes to flea market buys - but this just shows that something unique can really make a room.
I love that driftwood piece, it's so sculptural..., and the lamp fits right it.
Ugh. You and Eddie :)
I think one of the hardest things about flea market finds is envisioning something **without** all of the junk that's lying around it at the market. You're totally right, it *all* looks like junk on the table! But, here, in this space, it looks whimsical and fun and just perfect. Like how Eddie can make picnic cloth from 1972 look elegant. I'm just going to keep reading you all and looking at your inspiring posts - maybe I'll learn something eventually and absorb some of your style :)
It looks great, Lauren.
~Jacci in Ohio
It is exactly the right thing to tie everything in your room together. Couldn't be more perfect - sometimes you just have to take that leap and usually it works out in the end. :) Love your blog and all your ideas.
Sarah
That looks great! And what a pretty room to begin with. Is your title 'I love lamp' from the movie 'anchorman' or was it coincidence that you chose that title? Either way, your title made me laugh because I love that movie :) Great find!
Floor lamp version??
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/atq/1568930536.html
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