First of all, no 70s home is complete without a swag lamp. Lets take care of that.

Dave found this neat lamp on Craigslist, and went and picked it up in NE Portland, where it had spent the last 40 years or so hanging in a lovely 60s house. It was a pendant lamp, and wired directly into a box in the ceiling. So all we needed to do was turn it into a swag lamp. Luckily getting a swag lamp kit from the hardware store, and a new socket was no big deal. We reassembled it and tested it out and then hung it in the living room.

Hey that looks great! Wait a minute…DOH! Can you see the problem? Back to the workbench.

After disassembling it, moving a few pieces around, and reassembling the socket again, everything was back where it belonged. Now we can sit back and admire our new swag lamp!

For lamp #2, we have a special lamp which I have been trying not to break for the last 7 years or so, since I found it in my Aunt Margie’s basement while clearing out her estate. It is a Plastco Chalkware lamp.

Why is this lamp special to me? Well, it’s cool. Plus, take a look at this picture of my Dad on his wedding day:

Check out that awesome lamp on the table behind him! That’s my lamp!

Unfortunately I can’t find an awesome lampshade like that for it, at least without spending a fortune. I cleaned up the lamp, rewired it with a new socket and cord, and set it aside. Today I was walking through a store and happened to spot a shade I thought would do the trick. Maybe someday I’ll get it a proper vintage shade, but for now, I thought this looked pretty nice.

_