The Basement of the Bargains

Good lighting is essential to good living. After all, what’s the point of hanging pretty things on the walls if nobody will be able to see them? How can one be a graceful hostess while crashing into furniture? How shall we learn to cook the latest foods, wear the latest clothes, or arrange our homes in the most attractive way - let alone rise in our professions - if we cannot find the light to read the printed page?

No, no, we need good lighting. Of course, that lighting is always best if it’s presented attractively, too.

Case in point, the Urban Gold chandelier. The handsome design is based on Art Deco styles. Each arm bears a 60 watt light bulb for a grand total of 460 watts of brilliant light. That’s enough to see anything you need!

Me? I’m probably going to stare at the chandelier quite a lot.

In the usual course of things, you’d pay $1,200.00 for all this elegance and light. This week, however, is an unusual course. For one week only at Horchow, you can get this superfantastic chandelier for just $599.90 or just about half price.

Remember, if you wait until next monday, this deal will be gone, so act quickly!

Tonight is the start of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. I’d like to wish a very happy one to all my readers who celebrate the holiday.

I wish you all health, happiness, light and a year of miraculous events.

Once upon a time Tiffany was the name in stained glass. It’s still definitely a name to conjour with. But these days there are other names…names like JJ Peng.

This stained glass peacock lamp by JJ Peng features 415 glass cuts, 18 cabochons, and 18 JJ Peng gold nugget cuts. The base is a pair of patinaed bronze peacocks. What’s more, this is a limited edition piece. There will only be 700 made.

The retail value is set at $242.00, which is pretty good for this level of design and workmanship, particularly for a limited edition. But you know me. I’m not going to let you pay full price. I’m going to send you to QVC where you can get it for just $159.00.

I light up just thinking of the savings.

Sometimes when you want to update a room, it’s as simple as changing out the lighting. Even if that’s not all you do, it’s a great place to start. For instance, if I were redoing my (small) entryway, I’d want this pendant light from Shaney to hang in it:

The Fire Satin Blue mini pendant is stylish and elegant, and sheds 100w of light on the situation. Comes complete with rods in three different sizes to suit the needs of your home: 6″, 16″, and 22″. There’s also a slope adaptor, just in case.

Best of all, it’s on a great sale at Bellacor. The retail price is $250.00, but it’s on clearance now for just $94.00! With savings like that, you can do a lot more for that room than change out the light.

Need to shed some light on a dark corner of your home? Love Tiffany stained glass? Do you like to save money? If the answer to these three questions is ‘yes’ then you want to hurry over to Overstock.com and take a look at this handsome Tiffany-style stained glass dragonfly torchiere lamp.

The shade is made of 230 pieces of hand cut stained glass wrapped in fine copper foil, using the same techniques that Louis Comfort Tiffany himself did. This is placed atop a bronze-finished iron and zinc alloy base. Uses one 100W lightbulb.

Normally this lamp would cost you $399.95, but if you order today from Overstock.com, you can get it for just $94.99. That’s 76% off the retail price! You could spend a lot more money on something a lot less attractive, but why would you do that?

If you need to shed a bit of light on a corner of your home, this handsome yet whimsical table lamp with its botanical scroll design (shade not included) might be precisely what you’re looking for. It will grace nearly any table or desk with style.

It’s attractive, elegant, and powerful, since it will use up to a 100w bulb. Best of all, it’s on sale at Pottery Barn. The original price was $120.00, but it’s now on clearance for just $59.99. That’s half off!

I have long adored the look of a Tiffany lamp. The jewel-like colors, the warm glow, the graceful lines all delight me. Alas! these fine attributes do not come cheap. The simplest table lamp in the style often costs hundreds of dollars. There are imitation stained ‘glass’ lamps in the same style, but they invariably look cheap, tacky, and fake as hell. I thought I would have to go my entire life without one of these beautiful lamps all because I keep refusing to win the Lotto.

Well, now I can see the lamp of my dreams is within my grasp. A quick glance through the lighting section at Overstock.com showed me dozens of gorgeous real stained glass lamps at insanely low prices. Whether you’re looking for a ceiling fixture, wall sconce, table, or floor lamp, you can find the real deal made using the same techniques Tiffany himself did at a pittance.

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Soft, romantic lighting is a big part of the success of any intimate gathering. Too bright, and the intimacy is gone. Too dark and people start crashing into things, which is enough to dampen any good mood.

Some find the way around this with dimmer switches, but if you’re of a more retro-romance frame of mind, nothing fills the bill like a candelabra.

This elegant Savannah candelabra is made of galvanized iron using 17th century French wiring techniques. Its graceful arms hold six tapers easily.

Originally priced at $119.00, it can now be yours from Crate and Barrel for a mere $49.95…which means darkness will fail to fall not only over your dinner party, but over your bank account as well.