The English Maximalista

Well, you should all know by now how much this English Maximalista LOVES a good bargain, and isn’t particularly picky about where she finds one. Could be at the thrift store, could be from eBay or Vestiaire Collective, could be from… La-Z-boy?

Yes, you read that correctly: La-Z-boy! The famous American heritage furniture company who, I recently discovered, sells more than just the world’s most comfortable recliners! They also sell every kind of furniture one might need for ones’ home, including lamps. Who knew?!

I first cast my beady eye on these gorgeous ceramic lamps back in April, at my local La-Z-boy showroom on Bloomington in Colorado Springs, where they were tagged with a rather hefty $719.99 price ticket.

By which, I mean $719.99 EACH. (Gasp!)

You correctly guessed that I was not about to spend that much on a pair of lamps, let alone a singular one. And so I did the only logical thing a girl could do, under these impecunious circumstances: I lusted for them from afar. Pined for them in my sleep. Lowkey obsessed about them for 3 whole months. 

You get the idea.

So imagine my absolute delight when I recently spotted them in the store, with a shiny new red tag dangling from their shades! Were my eyeballs deceiving me? For behold! They were on clearance — my second favourite c-word — for only $150! Hurrah, my prayers had been answered! 

Whereupon the heroine of this story immediately snapped them up, brought them home, and we all lived happily ever after.

THE END.

*****

As seems to be the typical course of events in my life, one job always begets another. 

In today’s case, the question was, what should one do with the previous pair of bedside lamps? I like the old ones, which we bought from Walmart when we first moved here, just to hold the space until I found the ones that I really loved. (This search only took 2 years.) I don’t want to get rid of them, so where should I put them?

For now, they have replaced the old lamps I had on my piano:

Being a bit of a — forgive the profanity — self-professed lamp whore, we are not in any dire need of occasional lights, over here at the love shack. But it wasn’t until after my most recent La-Z-boy purchase that I actually took stock of what we already have.

Please don’t judge too harshly, gentle reader, when I confess the following to you: we have no less than 6 floor lamps, and 28 side lamps… 29 if we include Mr Maximalista’s [hideous] vintage Pabst Blue Ribbon light, which hangs with fluorescent splendour on the wall of our wine cellar.

Oh, and one itty-bitty little crystal chandelier in the dining room. Which hardly counts, right? I mean, surely any self-respecting Maximalista needs more than one chandelier in her life?

I admit I was mildly surprised at the amount of lamps I counted. Prior to when I just physically walked from room to room to evaluate the extent of my accidental collection, I would have surmised we were around the 15-20 mark. (Do you believe me, now, when I tell you that I have an actual aversion to overhead lighting?)

Does 29 seem excessive to you? Even when I tell you that we do genuinely use them all on a regular basis?

Welp, it looks like I might be spending the next hour or so putzing around the house, swapping lamps around. Who knows, I might even get rid of one…

Lots of love,

M xo