Why Did My New Lamp Need a Small Riser?
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I bought a new lamp for my bedroom. I have been looking to find just the right one for quite a while.
The lamp in the above photo is the one I have been using for the last few years. It is OK, but a teeny bit too large for the small chest of drawers I use as my night stand.
I am pretty picky about the lamps I use in my home and usually make over thrift store found table lamps like the white plaster lamp in my living room, the Serena & Lily lamp knockoff I made for the blue guest room and my favorite Pottery Barn lamp knock-off in my foyer to get the look I want for less.
When I started to refresh the pretty guest room recently, I decided the lamp on my night stand would be much better suited for the night table in this guest room, so I moved it there.
Doing this made my search for a new smaller lamp for my night table intensify. Most of the lamps I find at HomeGoods, Walmart, Target and online are too large, small, more rustic or modern than I want.
In my head I knew what I wanted, but wasn’t finding affordable options. Sure if I wanted to spend $300, I would have many options.
I opted to just embrace the SLOW method of decorating. When you learn to trust and embrace the process of the hunt, rather than pick up the first thing that catches your eye.
There is another lamp in the room, so not having a lamp the past two months hasn’t been a problem.
Last week during a stroll through HomeGoods I found the cutest lamp with shades of blue abalone fragments in the shape of fish. Living on a lake with a full view of it from my bed, the lamp was just too cute not to at least bring it home to see how it looked.
I really liked it except for one thing. I wanted it to have more height so that the base would be taller than the clock and plant. I like to see varied heights on a table display.
So what did I do? I went to my scrap wood stash to find a piece to use to make a riser.
I didn’t have any round pieces that would work as a riser, so I went online to see if I could find a round decorative riser to buy that was the same diameter as the base of my lamp.
What is a Lamp Riser?
A lamp riser can be made of wood, metal, ceramic, or glass. Using one adds a little height to a table lamp, making them look in better proportion to the decorative items around it while also giving the lamp more presence in a room.
You can also use risers in the same way for home decor accents such as flower vases, plants, candles and more.
I found these footed wooden risers for decor on Amazon. The 5-inch diameter size (largest in photo) was just what I was looking for, so no need to have to DIY one myself, although that is not too hard to do and I will share more ideas further down in this post.
3-Piece Wooden Risers for Decor
These footed risers come in two different diameter 3-piece sets: 3″, 4″, and 5″ is the set I bought. There is also a set with larger sizes: 8″, 6″, and 4″. All the sizes come in 4 different colors.
The white painted round wood riser adds 1.7″ to the height of the lamp, just enough to vary the lamp base height with the other 2 items on the night table to make me happy.
I also like the distressed white finish on the riser. It is going to go very nicely with something else I am working on for the room that I will share with you as soon as I complete it.
This is the view of my night stand I see when I am in bed. I like that when viewing the lamp from different parts of the room, the items look in proportion with each other.
Using decorative risers in decorating is one of the easiest ways to give an accent piece more prominence in minutes.
On a side note, I paid $29.99 for the lamp at HomeGoods. I looked at HomeGoods online to see if I could link to it, but it is not on their site. I did however find it on Houzz for $300 for a pair of the lamps. One more reason to love and shop HomeGoods.
Natural Wood Round Riser
On my kitchen counter I use a tree trunk slice to lift the lamp and a few small items off the counter. Using a larger riser in this way acts like a tray keeping the items grouped together.
Decorative Risers Using Books
When decorating your home and in need of a riser to make a display look better or a lamp higher, books come in very handy as the instant way to add height to an accent on a table or a vignette.
DIY – Tin Can Vase
Use cookbooks on your kitchen counter to raise a vase of flowers.
If you don’t have any books, head to the thrift store for a stack in colors that will coordinate with your room.
This gooseneck lamp got the height it needed by placing 3 books under it.
If you can’t find books in colors you like, use craft or spray paint to change the colors.
For larger items – use two stacks of books to raise the object.
As you can see I use books quite a lot when decorating to give my decorative accents more interest and prominence.
Look around your home to see if adding a little height to a decorative item will make it look better. If you don’t have a ready-made riser or books, a pedestal cake plate works nicely as do boxes wrapped in wallpaper or gift wrap. I am sure you can think of a few more items to use, even a stack of plates will work and looks nice.
If you do a search online for “wood risers”, “decorative risers” or “risers for decor” you will find many in various heights, styles, colors and shapes to fit any size item from a votive candle to a large vase or sculpture.
Decorative Risers
More Easy Decorating Project Ideas
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