True things in home decor:I like me some poufs. Over-sized mirrors rock my world. Things separated by color is amazing. Chesterfields are awesome. I can never own too many chairs. Another thing to add to that list? Lamps.

Seriously? Yes, seriously. I love lamp.

Like that. I had three waiting in my project closet. And since one has been living with me for…ummm…I’ll admit to more than 6 months, less than a year, I decided it was high time to get on that shit. Because my place needs more light. Especially here:

‘S so dark over by my chairs! So dark…and sad…and lonely. PLUS it’s right by my front door and it’s nice to have a light to flip on and off when you are coming in and out of the house after dark. So I thought I would keep my eye out for something fantastic…or with fantastic potential.

Then, across an estate sale preview with sister-of-the-deals, I saw this:

 

It’s fairly large. And ceramic. And I was oddly attracted to it. So I went and took a look. And BAM:

 

USED TO BE A LAMP. Then the rad (and slightly odd) girl who was organizing the sale said it was 40′s Italian ceramic. Sure! Ok! She coulda been lying, but whatever. It was like $20. Plus I wired a lamp once in 7th grade, and it was totally easy. I can do that.

So I went to this adorable little shop to look at lamp shades and get the stuff I needed to rewire it. It was run by these adorable little old women who were the owners/eployees. Ugh. I died.  They were so helpful!  So, I bought all the rewiring stuff. And a base. And since I had brought the body with me, I got to try on all sorts of sized and shaped shades.

But lampshades there were like $50. And I didn’t really want to spend that. So I left with my tiny bag, a “You can do it!” from my little old lady friends, and off I went into the sunset to make myself some lamp-y goodness.

And then it all sat in my closet for the aforementioned time.

But then I was all: HEY. BLOG. LETS MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

My love for all things not expensive (or should I say, my bank account’s love. I personally love expensive shit all the time. But I try to be a reasonable “adult”… I don’t always win.) brought me to Target. And a $15 shade that was approximately the size I knew I wanted. And ended up here:

That’s the stuff I needed. Or the stuff the ladies said I needed.

• A base (for the lamp to sit on.)
• A cord (that they cut to the length I wanted (Coulda been longer. Ill be honest.).) They also pre-stripped the ends for me! Woot!
• A socket. I got a three way. (Yeah you did.)
• A harp. It’s the thing that holds some shades up.
• A Nipple. It’s the tube that runs through the middle. A NIPPLE.
• A couple of nuts (that are a SPECIFIC size/threading for lamp parts), a locking washer, and pretty cap piece for the top of the body of the lamp.
• A lampshade-which ended up not needing a harp, so I left that part out. But it was good to have just in case the shade I found was that style. But see how it’s the kind that just sits on top of the socket?

Then I went online and googled “wiring a lamp”. And everything was WAY more confusing than I remembered it being, so I just decided to wing it. For reals. The ladies had explained it all at the shop (8 months previous) and I had done it once in 7th grade, I’d done some wiring outlets in the past…this could NOT be that hard.

SO I BEGAN:

The base needed a home at the bottom, and wire needed to be threaded through first. And then it needed to go through the long metal tube aka: THE NIPPLE. So…I did this:

(This is a picture of the BOTTOM of the base piece.) There was a hole drilled through the side, so in went the wire. Then I put on a nut to hold the nipple where it went through the bottom. Then threaded the wire up through the middle, and then threaded the wire through the nipple. That seemed easy enough…

Next, put the body of the lamp on the base:

Looks easy enough, right? OMG. Getting that little nipple into the hole was TORTURE. (SO MUCH TWSS.) But seriously. I was frustrated, and trying to do something that having three hands would have made incredibly easy. Stupid normal body. But it got done. The I tightened the nut on the bottom of the base just a little to keep the nipple in place while I worked on the top.

Then I put on the fancy cap, then a “locking” washer and a nut to tighten it all together. You can see those at the top of the lamp in this next pic.

And then I slid on the bottom of the socket:

BAM. Then I took the ends of those wires and make little hooks out of them. Like candy canes. So I could loop them nice and easy over the screws (unscrewed as far as they go) on the middle of the socket:

Make sure all the wires are twisted together nice and tight. And butt the plastic up to the screw as close as possible.

Then I tightened the screws down. Once you tighten them down then the top fits over:

And you fit all three pieces together like a puzzle and then push down and it all snaps together! Literally. It makes a snapping sound when all the parts are tightly fitted. Not “snap” as in “CRAP SOMETHING BROKE.” But “snap” as in “POP! MAGIC!”

Then I pulled the excess wire through the bottom to make it all nice and tight and screwed everything in.

BAM:

 

Then screwed in a lightbulb with my fingers crossed:

BAM BAM BAM! Light! Look who wired a lamp without instructions! WOOT.

Then I added my lampshade and set in place and DRUMROLL PLEASE:

PRETTY. Also, let us all just appreciate what a difference a ridiculously sunny day makes in picture taking. Le sigh.

I dig it. Im stoked it works and the scale and size are good. BUT I need to change up my art work. Between the chairs and the art and the lamp it is un petite bit matchy matchy for me.

BUT HEY. LOOK WHAT I DID.