Antique Desk Lamp {Thrifty Style Series}

I’m stepping back into reality this week after a whirlwind weekend at the Haven Conference, which is always a fun, inspiring, and overwhelming event. I had the opportunity to speak on a panel about growing your blog through networking off and online, and I was able to spend time with some wonderful friends I’ve made through the blogosphere over the last year or two. Then, as soon as I got back home, the two older boys started school, so it’s been a little chaotic and crazy this week! That said, I am happy to bring you another edition of the Thrifty Style Series, where I team up with some blog friends to show you a thrifted item styled in our home. (This can be something we found while thrifting, or scored for free, or even a family heirloom.) The goal is to inspire you and show you ideas of how you can take an item from the thrift store or flea market and make it work in your home. This month, I’m sharing an antique lamp I scored a few years ago. You’ve seen it in photos on the blog before, but I’ve never really talked about it or shared the story behind it.

This bronze desk lamp looked lonely, dusty, and sad when I stumbled upon it in a cluttered antique shop in Asheville about four years ago. It was extremely inexpensive (maybe $12?) and broken. It was missing a wing nut, preventing it from standing upright, so it was drooping like a sad, wilted flower. I thought for sure I could find the missing piece online, but sadly I never have been able to find exactly the right type, so I improvised. If you look closely, you’ll see that I tied a piece of jute twine around it to hold the arm in place, but luckily it’s not super noticeable and it doesn’t really bother me. The lamp is otherwise functional, and I’ve just always loved it.

Here’s another vignette with the lamp. It’s in my “mom cave” on the Mid-Century end table that I also scored second-hand, but on an estate sale website.