LIFE

Bargain Advocate | Preschooler sheds light on bargain lamp search

Abbey Roy

This past week, approximately one month prior to Newest Roy’s estimated debut, I decided it was time to wash the piles of hand-me-down clothes on her future bedroom floor and maybe un-box and organize things a little bit. If you have multiple kids, I’m sure you know how that goes. It’s all downhill after number one.

In the process of doing batches of laundry and wondering how we accumulated so many baby blankets, I took stock of the things we need for the room; this, in turn, morphed into a rearrangement of our entire home’s lighting setup.

Yeah, that’s just how I do things.

On the most basic level, this process involved asking Mr. Roy to remove lights attached to too-big ceiling fans in our too-small bedrooms — which have resulted in a number of bumped heads and near-decapitations — and finding less obtrusive table or floor lamps to replace them.

My first idea was to stop at Goodwill to see if I could find something tacky-but-with-potential to fix up and use. Tragically, there were no lamp bases I considered remotely salvageable.

I did, however, spot two very nice lampshades for $3 apiece — and since I didn’t remember how the shade attached to the lamp base I intended to bring out of retirement to use in our bedroom, I justified purchasing both, reasoning I could find a place for whichever didn’t work out.

(Confession: I am a Lamp Hoarder, meaning I almost never give away retired lamps; they merely go to live in our basement or attic so I can harvest parts from them as needed. Sketchy, right?)

My plan worked out perfectly: One shade fit into the fresh-out-of-retirement lamp base from Mr. Roy’s college dorm; the other replaced a shade in our living room that needed a little updating. Win-win for less than $7.

That unexpected double success — which still hadn’t netted me the lamp I needed for Newest Roy’s room, the entire reason I’d made the trip — gave me the gusto to continue my search.

A couple days later I dragged Soon-to-be Middle Roy to (a different) Goodwill, and she came willingly because she likes to hide in the racks of clothing while I pretend to have lost her.

We meandered to a shelf lined with quirky, neglected lamps and I gave them a once-over. There was a pair of girly pink buffet lamps for $20; I could see they were from A Generic Big-Box Store that Shall Remain Nameless, which told me they were probably of passable but not lifetime quality. Plus, I only needed one.

Further down the shelf stood a lamp which I initially deemed close-to-hideous: The base appeared to be brass and comprised two columns loosely intertwined, sort of like the DNA double helix you learned about in biology but without the “rungs.” Turned sideways, it resembled a figure 8.

Attached to the rim of its flared lampshade was a faded green ribbon embellished with a network of dangling beads in hues of ivory, peach and amber. I stared at it for perhaps a second too long when Littlest Roy materialized out of the ether and said, “That one’s pretty, Mama. Let’s get it!”

“Errr…,” I hesitated. “Let’s look at some of the other ones first.”

I did, but she wouldn’t relent.

“It’s so pretty! Let’s get it.”

I sighed and checked the price tag: $6.

It was the right size. The construction was solid — better, I was fairly certain, than the Big Box cast-offs on display a few feet away. The beads would probably come off, and maybe I could paint the stand?

If nothing else, I reasoned, it could become a family joke down the road, like the leg lamp from “A Christmas Story.” Or a good white elephant gift. In any case it would serve its purpose of lighting a room, and infants usually aren’t picky about that sort of thing.

I forked out the $6 and hauled our find home.

As I began researching how to polish brass — the base did pass the “magnet test,” making it the genuine article — I learned this shiny hardware staple of the 1980s has been making a comeback in design circles. Thanks to a lemon juice-and-baking soda paste, it shined up quite nicely.

When I thought Littlest Roy wasn’t paying attention, I peeled off the ribbon and beads. This apparently broke her heart, because she looked at it, frowned and said, “Now it’s boring to me.”

I promised her she could turn the beads into a necklace, which seemed to help.

I couldn’t remove the leftover glue from the rim of the shade, and I plan to “spice it up” a little with some paint or less gaudy embellishments, but all in all, the lamp looks pretty good. Trendy, even.

It’s certainly unique, but for $6, who am I to complain? I can say with confidence that it’s growing on me — I just needed a 3-year-old to help me see its beauty.

And for about $13, I essentially have three “new” lamps in the house. Not bad for two trips — Littlest Roy agrees.

If you have insight about a frugal living topic or an idea for a future column, please email me at amroy@nncogannett.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy saving,

Abbey