Make Your Table Lamp Cords Disappear Like Magic

Hey Guys! Remember how we were talking about the cool lamps in this post? And many of you said that you love the look but… what to do with the table lamp cords?

T’is a problem, isn’t it?

William McLure

In William McLure’s case, he drilled a hole in the table for the table lamp cord to go into. Fine, if your table is made of plywood and there’s a table-cloth on it all the time. But then, you need a hole in the table-cloth too!

Miles Redd

In Miles Redd’s gorgeous dining room that he created for his Mom, it’s been said that he threaded the cord between the leaves. Sounds clever, but also dangerous. Over time, those cords could easily lose their outer protective plastic and then we’ll have a massive fire hazard on our hands.

And then, in both cases, we still have to plug the lamp in. Usually, there’s a rug under the table and that means a hole in the rug too! And wires going under the rug.

No bueno.

This holds true for any floating situation where there’s a side table in the middle of the room. Same sitch.

designed by Connie Newberry – photo by Jonny Valiant – via House Beautiful

Then, there is the kitchen island. I can’t think of any way to do this unless there was a hole under the lamp in the counter for the wire to snake through to a source of power.

Remember Nancy Keye’s fabulous kitchen with the gorgeous vintage table lamps? They made the room!

But what if we don’t have an outlet nearby? Does that mean we are to use a 10 foot extension cord if we wish to have a table lamp. Yes, we might be able to add a wall socket. Or rather, an electrician could, but sometimes the cost is prohibitive or there’s wallpaper or it’s an old home and wouldn’t be able to handle the additional load.

Or, it’s a rental and we just can’t figure it out.

Oh well… Guess, it’s not to be. We’ll just suffer in darkness.

Or do we have to?

What if we could magically make those cords just disappear?

What if we could have a stylish table lamp that worked without the cords?

A cordless lamp?

Is there such a thing?

YES, there is such a thing!

Eh, not exactly what you had in mind?

I didn’t think so. :]

But, how about this?

Or this?

Or this?

Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as a cordless table lamp that’s beautiful.

Yes, that’s right folks. These are lamps do not have cords and they run on a rechargeable battery. The battery can run for 20 hours and is easy to change.

Oh, Laurel– please tell us where we can get these???

The three lamps above are actually vintage lamps that have been retro-fitted to become battery operated table lamps by a wonderful company

Modern Lantern

I spoke to the owner, Steve today and he couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful.

By the way. This is NOT a sponsored post. Quite frankly, I don’t care all that much because they don’t pay very much and if I do them, it is always for a product that I genuinely love.

The vintage lamps above are sold on their Etsy shop.

However, they have a gorgeous line of battery powered table lamps and two of them are even able to be used OUTDOORS. Holy crap. This just keeps getting better and better.

Here is a partial view of the line.

Pretty sweet, if you ask me.

The Modern Lantern website is very lovely and they explain in this video that’s also on youtube just how easy it is to change the battery.

It took the woman all of 15 seconds to change the battery; from the time she touched the lamp to the time she put it back on the table. All you need is an extra battery and you can have a steady source of light from the battery.

No question, they Modern Lantern be in the next update of Laurel’s Rolodex. They do sell both to the trade and retail. Designers get a designer discount which varies depending on how many lamps are ordered.

I asked and they have new designs in the works.  Hooray!

How fabulous would something like this be?

Oh, I can think of so many lamps that would be instant hits!

Their system is patented.

And I forgot to ask if they provide a service for them to turn your lamps into battery-powered.

Maybe they will chime in if I send the post to them.

Aren’t you excited? I certainly am.

In the meantime— for the adventurous of you out there

I don’t know if you guys ever saw this, but there is a pretty good tutorial where these folks from the blog View Along The Way tell you how to turn any table lamp into a battery powered lamp.

Not only does she show you how to fix up the finish with rub ‘n buff. But this is the lamp that they made cordless. BTW, I’ve used rub ‘n buff for years and it’s pretty amazing stuff. They also have a tutorial for making a shaded table lamp cordless.

Quite frankly, unless you really know what you’re doing, I’d probably have an electrician handle it.

What do you guys think?

I’m very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.

xo,