French Retro Industrial Reading Side Table

hello instructabl...ers(?...)

i found an old reading lamp with a magazine holder under it.

it was in very poor conditions and every parts exept the metal ones were totally unusable....

so....

I throw the lampshade and all the electric parts away, as well as the formica top that was molded.....

the second picture show what it looked like in the 60's.....

Step 1: The Table Top and the Electrical Part.

i went to the workshop and cut a pecs of wood the dimensions of the metal structure.

I did not varnished it because I want the stains to give it personality....

I got an old switch from a house we restored when i was a kid, it is made of porcelain and metal and has that distinctive CLICK CLACK and is quite hard to operate (funny ....)

all the cables are new and the plug is recycled from another project.

the "magazine holder" was made of plastic string which was rotten ....a few square inches of metal screen (is that the english word?) gave it that retro industrial look.

Step 2: The Bulb, the Shade, the Look.

sooooo.

i had an old "farm lantern" metal enamel shade (easy to find in antique markets here in france)

I stuck a pickle jar under it and wrapped it into metal screen to make it look industrial.

seen from an average distance, people never realize it is a pickle jar ..... worth the cost.

everything is held together with the screwable ring from the original lampshade (i added a bit of glue....)

Step 3: Done!

everything in my flat looks the same.... wood and metal of all ages......simple and sturdy.....gets old with style and can be easily customizable ......

thanks for reading!!!!!!