My Latest Ebay Find

Author:  Autumn-(Janette)

When decorating our new place, it was important to us to be less formal.  Afterall, we down-sized to simplify our lives and lifestyle.

However,  we needed to keep some of our existing furniture.  It was just too good to toss aside, and our children aren’t ready for it, yet.  The pieces that came from our previous dining room are quite formal, but with the use of casual, rustic, and unusual accessories, I can and will make it have a “come on in and use me” look.

Take this beautiful sideboard for instance.

It is quite formal, but by adding some vintage suitcases and a crock underneath and using the swan, which will change seasonally, on the top, it looks somewhat casual.  I wasn’t particularly happy with the lamps, though.  They just weren’t doing it for me, even with their new coat of paint and new shades.  So, I turned to ebay for a solution.

I have been browsing demi-johns for a while now, and that is where I found it.  Or, I should say them.  A seller was offering two demi-johns in crates as one lot.  As you can see from this photo taken before they were cleaned, they aren’t exact matches.

They are like twins.  I guess it goes back to my favorite Cambodian quote, “Same-same, but different”.  That difference made them all the more interesting to me.  I made an offer, and it was accepted.

This twin is new and brighter. Evidently, it was born last.  But, despite their differences, I am going to make them into lamps!  Before making the offer, I measured our side board to be sure the dimensions of the crates wouldn’t be too large, and they weren’t.

As soon as I had unboxed the demi-johns, I rushed to our neighborhood hardware store (Yes, we have a great neighborhood hardware store that has everything.  They also have real people to help you and answer your questions.  Plus, you can buy one or two of something rather than a whole package).  They had two lamp kits remaining, but the corks in the lamp kits were too small.

But in another bin, they had corks.  Not just corks, but corks that fit.  And I only had to buy two.

Mr. Autumn taught me how to use the drill, and I made holes in the corks so the lamp kit wires would fit.

After about two hours of stuggling with the directions describing how to assemble the wiring, maybe, just maybe, I went to the hardware store and asked the gentleman to help me.  And just maybe he did!

The assembled socket fit perfectly in the first bottle.  After I learned how to do it, the second lamp went together quickly.

After selecting the proper size, we are having a local lamp shop make two shades in a beige linen.

I borrowed a shade from another light in our house to see how it would look on the side board.  Bam!  It looks great.  But, I think beige shades, rather than white, will be better.  I’m glad I did a test run with the white shade first.

They look so nice in their new shades.

They are in a huge room, and their size is perfect.  See how their informality balances the formal side chair?

They are so unique…..

and quirky.

They’ll be great conversation pieces.

Don’t you agree?

Take care.

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