Friday, January 15, 2010

I LOVE LAMP: My Faux Bois Flea Market Find

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
      Striped Blanket:  Dash & Albert