Flat-pack furniture; We all know the drill by now. If you buy a set of drawers from Ikea, it’s probably going to come in a long narrow box of MDF pieces, ready for you to scramble over when you get home.
We’ve come to terms with it when it comes to our basics, and as an Ikea fangirl this is pretty much the norm for me as a consumer, but what about the decor? And specifically, lighting. Are we as receptive to getting stuck in for the personal touches?
Self-assembly lighting it relatively new to me.
Last year I received an Armadillo pendant light shade from Iconic Lights and I was so surprised to see if was a DIY job when it arrived! (You can read my post on it here)
I guess the shock came from the fact that I already owned a very similar-style lampshade in our kitchen, which arrived in one single piece. (Still SO in love this this by the way)
And another gem from Iconic Lights – my ram lamp – also arrived in pieces.
So when the hubby bought me some Graham & Green copper pendants to replace the now-dated brown lampshades we’d previously had in the lounge, I was firstly, SO chuffed that he’d picked something truly perfect for the room, and secondly, confused by the flat box!
My heart sank at first because I wanted to get them straight up, but with lots of small pieces and a toddler that wants whatever her mummy has, I had to wait.
In all honesty, I’m quite forgiving with things like this, and when the mood strikes, I’m quite happy to sit down for the evening and do something a little crafty.
But at what price point is it the customer’s job to put the work in, I wonder? At a cost of £55 each, they’re far from being majorly high-end, but I certainly wouldn’t classify them as budget either.
My items from Iconic Lights were part of a range specifically designed to be affordable around the £20 mark so I felt it was totally reasonable to not pass the additional cost of assembly and more packaging onto me. But let’s take a look at my pendants from Graham & Green.
You can see from the images below that it’s made up of a set of clear plastic pieces which, combined, make a frame. The pieces which make us the shade are a number of triangular cardboard shapes coated in a copper colour on the outside. These slot into the plastic skeleton to form a cascading effect of copper faux leaves.
I must admit, it looks quite cheap up close, but once assembled looks significantly more expensive, especially from across the room – and I really love the soft glow they send off from end to end of the lounge – a pretty dark space due to its narrow shape and average-height ceilings. The copper against our blue walls is just PERF in my eyes.
I have a lot of patience generally, and as an enthusiast of all things interiors it’s a great little way to indulge on an evening when my mini me is tucked away in bed. But I do wonder if I’m alone on this. Don’t most people just want something bought and fitted as soon as possible? Or have we all fallen head over heels for the DIY way of thinking?
Which category do you fit into? Do you think these are the next big thing? Can you even be bothered? I’d love to see your self-assembly lighting!
