For Christmas, Brent and I decided to build some lamps to give as gifts to family. He felt he could do a good job making a wooden lamp, however, he needed some design inspiration. Paraphrased his words were, "I'm practical and can make it functional but you can make it look good." Okay, yes, I can make it look good. Stroke my ego a little more, honey. :)
Brent brought me a piece of paper with a preliminary idea sketched on it. I took another piece of paper and drew out a similar (but different) design, planning for stain color and variations and type of shade. Once I had a preliminary design, I set about searching through Brent's huge store of wood to find the perfect pieces for our lamps. We both agreed that we wanted lots of coloration and knots on the wood so the lamp would have a lot of character and omph. After finding a few pieces of wood that would work, I began measuring and tentatively determining the measurements of the pieces.
After I had my tentative design completed, I called it a night. The next day, Brent went to Lowe's to get all the equipment he would need to assemble a lamp. After an hour, he had it dry fit to show me what his prototype looked like. I whole-heartedly approved and go him the go ahead to assemble the others. We discussed what stain pattern the lamps needed and came to an amiable agreement. Since I don't know the first thing about electrical work, I gladly let Brent take full responsibility for the assembly and I headed to the store to shop for lamp shades. I chose a tan linen shade for two of the lamps. I felt the texture and coloration of the shade complimented the lamps. For the third, an off-white silk shade was chosen to add a touch of sophistication to the rustic quality of the lamp.
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| An unlit lamp with the linen shade. |
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| The lamp when lit. The linen shade really compliments the colors of the wood. |
Brent did an excellent job assembling and staining these lamps. My intentions of helping to build these lamps didn't happen due to a busy schedule and the fact that Brent obviously wanted to build these himself. I asked him if he wanted assistance several times. After the third or fourth time of hearing, "No, I have it," I finally got the hint! :) Even though he did most of the work, I am proud of these babies and am posting them because they are my design.
