Foiled by the Samtid!

Materials: Samtid floor lamp, drum shade, wire cutters,pliers,clip on lamp shade

Description: Picked up the Samtid floor lamp from Ikea Canada. I love what to me is a great mix of contemporary yet classic design. The price was great at $49.99 CDN. It would fit in great with my decor and give me the overall look I wanted. Sad to say the wife hated the shade. She felt the plastic shade cheapened the lamp. Looking online I figured out we would need a Uno Fitter Lamp Shade, but at pretty much every retail store I went to they were not to be found. Even calling specialty lighting stores I had 0 luck.

Looking a little deeper it seems that with low budget imports most every lampshade available requires the use of a harp. I took the lamp apart but found it very difficult to disassemble socket. Specifically the wiring to socket. At the risk of damaging the lamp I decided I would need to either (a) cut the wiring to remove the socket and hope I could feed the wire back through the tubing OR (b) give up the modification. I had picked up a great shade the would have to go back. In the end I found a solution to my problem.

I took the lamp and removed the existing plastic shade. However I left the three support rods intact. I purchased a drum shade that would match my existing room decor. I managed to find a children's lamp that had a clip on style shade. The wiring simply went over your standard light bulb. Using my pliers I removed the wiring from the shade. I then took the new lamp shade and using a thin wire attached the clip-on wiring to the new shade. It worked like a charm ! Now I have a great lamp that fits the look of the room. All in all the project cost me about $70.00.

The lamp itself was $50, the new shade was $20, and the clip-on shade was something my parents had lying around the house.

~ Mike Boss, Toronto, Ontario Canada