New Life for a Crystal Lamp

I have been wanting a new lamp for my bedside table for a long while. A long, long while. I've had the same little ginger jar ceramic lamp since I got my first apartment, and that's been many years back. Sure, I've replaced the shade, looked at other lamps, but never actually put out the money to buy a new one. Old Ginger just kept on going, and there were always other demands for my cash.  Lately, though, I've been checking out the array at Goodwill, hoping to find something which will complement the more romantic look I want to pull in there. Last week I wandered to the lamp corner and saw a white cherub lampstand. It was rather big for what I wanted it for.....plus..... I love seeing cherubs as part of other people's shabby chic romantic design, but I'm actually not a cherub person myself. Bit too baroque for me.  I look a bit further, and there it is. A crystal lamp, just the right size, just the right look, and at $5, just the right price.

I've always loved crystal lamps. Actually, I love anything crystal, but I've always wanted a crystal lamp. In fact, my husband and I bought a crystal lamp once, well, he bought it as a gift for me, but we took it back, closer examination revealed that the seal line was very obvious and looked cheap and tacky.

Tell me, is it too terribly dated?  Not that I should care, but I know that the polished brass base is of a hue considered 'dated' elsewhere. Mind you, not 'vintage', or 'antique,' but 'dated'.  Gives a much different association, doesn't it.  I can, I suppose, put a bronze metal leaf over it, maybe brushed gold leafing, actually, that sounds nice when I verbalize it, doesn't it?

It needs a new shade as well, the one it came with is old and cheap, feels practically plastic. That won't be too much of an expenditure, and it will give it an almost new feeling.

I am very happy with the new setting it creates. Okay, I have to share the truth. The first picture is my 'ideal' setting, so sweet and romantic. Here's how it will actually look, with my trusty clock radio, also a thriftshop find from years ago, and those most important glasses. You might even find the tv remote there occasionally, if you were to peek in unannounced.

A definite improvement in the mood of my nightstand, however. Old gingey, the ginger jar lamp is put away in the closet. Maybe one of my girls will want it for her first apartment. By then, it might even be vintage.