Easy, Stylish Floor Lamp from an Antique Tripod!

Just when you thought that industrial look was on the way out, whammo! You start seeing every Pinterest board filled with spare, somewhat gritty looking décor that makes you crave loft-high ceilings with exposed ducts and pipes all painted black or white and windows taller than you flooding the whole space with light. I'm a huge fan of stark industrial style mixed with antiques, some mid-century and a little bit of funkiness. Give me a hardwood factory floor that's been well worn — gashes and cracks, some gaps wider than a pencil, a few oil stains from a machine that stood there for years. Then, an intense cleaning followed by a thorough sanding from rough to fine grit, several gallons of glossy urethane in consecutive coats and you've sealed a gorgeous new, rough-hewn dance floor for life. Add a couple plush, vintage wool Oriental rugs and voila — gorgeous! Many years ago, I learned this lighting trick where you turn a vintage or antique tripod into a floor lamp. It is incredibly easy. The toughest part is finding the old tripod. My example here I believe was an old camera tripod but I'm not 100% sure. It's a very simple hardwood piece with adjustable legs and metal pins at the end of each leg presumably to dig into the soft soil of a lawn to steady a level shot. It could be a surveyor's tripod, but the legs are a little too spindly for that kind of equipment I think. Every tripod, whether modern or antique, has an upturned bolt protruding from the top which creates an easy mount for a light socket. You can find a corded light socket at any big box or local hardware store for around $10. Just make sure it has a female receiving bracket bottom. Most of them do. You can do an online eBay search for vintage or antique tripods. There's plenty out there. Or, you can wait 'til you just happen upon one at an auction or antique shop. If you get a good deal on the vintage tripod, the most expensive part of the project is, of course, the lampshade you choose. My goodness, lampshades are expensive. But, aside from finding a cool looking tripod (the legs of the lamp) the most important part is finding a shade that is your style. The one shown here is one I'd ordered for another project but then swapped to sell the other tripod lamp. This one is simple and tasteful, though. The little brass retaining chains that keep the legs from splaying too widely need some work so, for now, I keep it level looking by putting the leg pins in the floorboard seams. It's so nice to sometimes find a fabulous re-purposing project that doesn't take days or weeks to complete. And, lighting is such a powerful component of creating the home sense you want, that, when it's simple, it seems like such a gift. Keep your eyes open for vintage tripods and funky lampshades!