Where to buy inexpensive lamps

When you’re updating a room, lighting can truly make or break a space. BUT when you actually look for lighting fixtures, you realize that they can truly break your budget!

Since we’ve been in our house for over a year now, we’ve had to buy lighting for almost every room in our house. Since we’ve been on a very tight budget, I’ve had to become a true bargain hunter to get some awesome lamps! Just in case you’re looking for some help in this area, I decided to share my finds with you!

Here’s my round-up of my favorite ideas for where to buy inexpensive lamps:

Clockwise (starting top left): 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

IKEA

Hands down, IKEA is my favorite place for inexpensive lighting. The majority of our lighting fixtures in our house are from IKEA!
They are usually more modern designs, and are usually not pieces that will be passed on from generation to generation. But they’re stylish, affordable, and you get to eat meatballs after you shop for them! Hooray!
We used the lamp pictured above in our kitchen (full post here)

Clockwise (starting top left): 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

TARGET

While you’re grabbing *everything* else at Target, you might as well stop by their lighting section. I love love LOVE the Threshold collection, and I have a few of their shades in my house on thrifted lights (more on that later).
Target usually has a much bigger selection online – see if you can ship to the store and then you don’t have to pay for shipping!
I got this lampshade from Target – put it on top of a thrifted lamp base that I painted (read the whole post here)

HOMEGOODS/ROSS/MARSHALLS

These stores are so much fun, but can also be frustrating if you’re looking for something specific.
My advice: go often, and only buy it if you love it. Their prices are usually awesome, but don’t just buy it because it’s a $30 floor lamp. Who cares if it has bright purple zebra stripes, right? I’ve found that when I go to these stores often, I can spot a good deal (for a lamp that I actually love) once it comes along.
I really wish I had gotten a good picture of it, but we gifted a lamp to my sister & her husband right before they got married – the base is from Ross & the shade was from Target:

Clockwise (starting top left): 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

HARDWARE STORES

I was kind of surprised to find out how stylish the lighting selection was at our hardware store. We had been looking for an inexpensive lighting fixture in our kitchen, and I was having such a hard time finding one! I actually got this one at Home Depot – I get compliments on it all the time!
Same deal as Target – they have a LOT more selection online, so shop there and see if you can get it shipped to the store (for free – yay!)
Our Home Depot light is proudly hanging in the middle of our kitchen (full details here)

thriftstore lamps

source

THRIFT STORES & YARD SALES

I LOVE finding treasures at thrift stores and yard sales. You can score some quality pieces for pennies, but you can also buy overpriced junk.
I usually try not to spend more than $20 on a thrift store lighting find, unless it’s truly amazing. Make sure the thrift store you’re shopping in can verify that it’s a working piece before you pay for it!
This is where you can use your imagination a little bit – if you don’t like the lamp because of it’s bright brassy color – consider spray painting it. When you’re already getting an awesome price, you can afford to put in an hour or two rehabbing it and making it truly fit your style. If you love the lamp, but hate the lampshade, then definitely buy the lamp and get a replacement shade elsewhere (my favorite source for shades is Target!)

DIY

If you’re truly ambitious, go ahead and make a light yourself!

You can buy a lamp kit online (above affiliate link) or in hardware stores, and get creative with making a lamp to fit your style.
Here’s some of my favorites from some awesomely creative bloggers: