I SAVED these beauties from the Melting Pot!

Source unknown...Aren't those lamps beautiful!

Recently I purchased this pair of lamps at an auction.  I was bidding against a guy who just wanted to buy them for the cost of the brass...(one of the sad things about auctions, most of the metal these days is going to the melting yard....silver, brass, nickel....all of that old wonderful workmanship.... I digress.....

These suckers are HEAVY....but were terribly UGLY, and SAD sitting in this warehouse of mostly junk....With the lamp shades that were on them....they were comical.   I mean when a whole room starts laughing when you are bidding on an item you know it is bad....but I saw the gorgeousness of them and wanted to laugh at those naysayers...  they couldn't see past the ENORMOUS shades that covered most of the tall lean base. "Just wait", I said outloud!

I marched them to my local lamp guy, who was impressed by my find.... He rewired, added new harps, and I picked out shades.

These Sad Doudy Lamps....have a new lease on life!  Slim and trim, long and lean, and Gorgeous.

My new beautiful lamps...

The LESSON: Lampshades are the dress on a lamp.  These lamps had an unfortunate dress on a beautiful figure...they were just wearing the wrong dress!  HA HA, HA to those naysayers.   I really want them to flank my sofa like the above inspiration photo, but I don't know that the scale works in my living room...going to try in my bedroom, or my husband's study....  They might be destined for another space, or for a future client.  But for now I have one in the living room, and it makes me happy that I saved her from the Melting Pot!

I have come across a few great lamp makeovers lately.  A lamp can have beautiful lines, but a bad finish, or shade....Don't discard beautiful lamps, they can be painted, or a new shade added to make them gorgeous. Look at these transformations!

Both Transformations from Jill Sorenson with

Live Like You Blog

Via Rene with Cottage and Vine
She found these at her local RE-store.

So go out find a lamp and dress her up, maybe with some paint, or maybe it is just a shade.  Another home accessory that DOES NOT have to cost an arm and leg.