JimWeinrich
11-20-04, 05:46 PM
I have a very simple idea to modernize/redo a bathroom in my new condo, and I'm frustrated because it's a category of product no one seems to sell. You can buy lots of lampshades all by themselves, and put them on just about any lamp designed for a lampshade. But what about wall fixtures with a glass shade? Can I replace just the shade, or do I have to redo the entire fixture?
I'd love it if someone can point me to a supplier of such glass shades.
The bathroom light fixtures are very simple and old-fashioned. The actual lights are two ordinary incandescent bulbs in ordinary indandescent sockets. They're arranged horizontally, pointing away from each other. In the middle is a metal bracket, and in the middle of the bracket is a threaded post. The post sticks through a half-inch hole in the glass shade, and there's a little threaded nub on the front (visible) side of the glass shade. Thread the nub onto the post and the glass is held in place. The shade is very undistinguished glass, a U-shaped trough, which runs horizontally.
Instinct tells me that I OUGHT to be able to replace just the shade: unscrew the nub, remove the glass, take the new glass, slip its hole around the post, and reattach the nub. Voila -- what appears to be a new light! (It's entirely similar to removing a lampshade, discarding it, and replacing it by a new shade you bought at the store.) After all, there's nothing wrong with the bulbs or the sockets or the guts of the fixture; why not just cover them all up with a fresh-looking shade?
So I take off one of the shades and take it to Home Depot, Lowe's, and Ikea. I ask if they carry a replacement. No. How about something else that would fit? No, you have to buy the entire new fixture, shade, sockets, guts and all.
If I were a glassworker I could easily MAKE a replacement. It could even be made from a flat piece of glass, if I wanted to: just cut it into a vaguely horizontal shape, drill a hole in the middle, sand the edges, and there you have it.
So I would imagine that somebody somewhere stocks not only the glass shades -- to use as replacements for broken ones -- but also all kinds of other glass which would fit just fine (i.e., have a hole drilled in the middle). But HD, Lowe's, and Ikea all claim that that's not possible, not even by special order!
Am I nuts? Is there some reason why such a product doesn't seem to exist? I'll bet there's millions of people with boring light fixtures like mine, and a few thousand of them would want to change them every now and then, right? Or just replace one that breaks??
OK... end of my rant and rave. Any leads would be appreciated. I want to replace four of them, so although this is not a large project it is more than just a $6 single item.
In advance, thanks!
I'd love it if someone can point me to a supplier of such glass shades.
The bathroom light fixtures are very simple and old-fashioned. The actual lights are two ordinary incandescent bulbs in ordinary indandescent sockets. They're arranged horizontally, pointing away from each other. In the middle is a metal bracket, and in the middle of the bracket is a threaded post. The post sticks through a half-inch hole in the glass shade, and there's a little threaded nub on the front (visible) side of the glass shade. Thread the nub onto the post and the glass is held in place. The shade is very undistinguished glass, a U-shaped trough, which runs horizontally.
Instinct tells me that I OUGHT to be able to replace just the shade: unscrew the nub, remove the glass, take the new glass, slip its hole around the post, and reattach the nub. Voila -- what appears to be a new light! (It's entirely similar to removing a lampshade, discarding it, and replacing it by a new shade you bought at the store.) After all, there's nothing wrong with the bulbs or the sockets or the guts of the fixture; why not just cover them all up with a fresh-looking shade?
So I take off one of the shades and take it to Home Depot, Lowe's, and Ikea. I ask if they carry a replacement. No. How about something else that would fit? No, you have to buy the entire new fixture, shade, sockets, guts and all.
If I were a glassworker I could easily MAKE a replacement. It could even be made from a flat piece of glass, if I wanted to: just cut it into a vaguely horizontal shape, drill a hole in the middle, sand the edges, and there you have it.
So I would imagine that somebody somewhere stocks not only the glass shades -- to use as replacements for broken ones -- but also all kinds of other glass which would fit just fine (i.e., have a hole drilled in the middle). But HD, Lowe's, and Ikea all claim that that's not possible, not even by special order!
Am I nuts? Is there some reason why such a product doesn't seem to exist? I'll bet there's millions of people with boring light fixtures like mine, and a few thousand of them would want to change them every now and then, right? Or just replace one that breaks??
OK... end of my rant and rave. Any leads would be appreciated. I want to replace four of them, so although this is not a large project it is more than just a $6 single item.
In advance, thanks!