Okay, the concept is slightly macabre, but so are these resurrected toys and fairy tales.

In consideration of the holiday season, let’s reflect on Christmas’ past: like that year you had to complete your Jem and the Holograms doll collection or you would just die. (She truly was outrageous.) Or that year mom got a black eye scoring you your first Cabbage Patch Kid. Where’s Rainbow Brite now, I wonder? We’re guessing at the bottom of some rainbow, or dumped in a New Jersey landfill like a bit character from The Sopranos.

By the power of Grey Skull, a designer has found a use for those discarded He-Mans and Thundercats. And an artist from Korea has given She-Ra The Princess of Power’s new Crystal Castle walls to defend, only this time it’s personal.

These welded stainless steel plate sculptures by So Hyun Woo pits the likes of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet and this particular she-hero against the Armageddon (a Decepticon, we presume).

The above are from his Cruel Fairy Tales 3 collection.

Meanwhile, an outfit called Evil Robot Designs designs bespoke lamps out of action figures like Morpheus from The Matrix, Shrek and Donkey, plus a few Hot Wheels glazed in high gloss lacquer and topped with a shade:

Also from Evil Robot, a wicked white lamp featuring Star Wars leftovers and The Scarecrow from DC Comics.

Evil Robot pays further homage to Dreamworks and Toy Story in matte-gloss.

Should you find yourself home for the holidays, pay a visit to the basement and resurrect those old toys. The universe may not need Voltron anymore, but can you say the same about your living room?

Give your paperbacks a home away from the bookshelf.

This ingenious invention is like killing two mocking birds with one stone: it’s part reading light, part bookmark. Stick your current tome on top of it, and look! It’s a house. The Book Rest Lamp is made from recyclable frosted glass and uses an energy efficient bulb that will provide 8,000 hours of reading.

Available for about $80 from SUCK UK, who promises to ship it to you (converter included) in efficiently packaged containers made from recycled/recyclable paper.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean the sun has set on your Copacabana fantasies.

This shouldn’t be too difficult to imagine: you on a white-sand beach sprawled out on a cabana chair holding a strong, fruity, pink beverage in hand.

Keep that picture in mind, and cherish it. You’re going to need it to get through the long, cold winter ahead.

Thankfully, artist Heather Wells invented the Mai Tai lamp so you don’t have to suffer through winter on fantasy alone. She created this lampshade out of tiny cocktail umbrellas collected from friends and restaurants. The umbrellas are coated in a protective resin, the tips dipped into phosphorescent paint, in case you need an all night reminder of music and passion.

Available exclusively from UncommonGoods for $58.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

These Tunisia-inspired birdcages from Roost are an investment to save for – but a flea market find is something to sing about. 

Someday…

I would love to have this Tunisian-inspired birdcage lamp by Roost, available for purchase at Velocity.

The birdcage lamp, pictured here, is woven from buri–the center stalk of a palm frond–and features a light diffuser with a bird stenciled on it. They come is three shapes, but hark, they are an investment at $275 a pendant.

Today…

I can wire a found birdcage with a bulb to create a whimsical, hanging light fixture. Vintage birdcages can be found at flea markets and garage sales. If you don’t feel handy with electrical wires, just add candles to set the mood. This birdcage lamp was found on the Fabulous World of Design blog.

Someday/Today is a weekly column that inspires you to dream big for your home, and scale it to your lifestyle, always keeping sustainability of the planet – and your wallet – in mind.

They’re frilly, flouncy, flirty – and you can wear them, too.

These handmade, upcycled hanging lamps are made from bare lamp shades, cotton belts and vintage crinoline petticoats. Cute for stringing up in the yard, under the evening sky as laundry is meant to be hung. Or try hanging them daintily in a dressing room, if you happen to have one of those.

Available for around $110 in white, black, and pink taffeta.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

Finally, a lamp for obsessive bottle cap collectors.

I’ve lusted after Lula Dot’s creations before, so it should come as no surprise that I’m crushing so majorly on the CAPtivate. Designer Lucy Norman took into consideration that only 5.5% of plastic bottles sold in the UK are recycled. Bottle caps, meanwhile, are generally not recycled at all because they are made from an altogether different plastic from the bottles themselves.

Lucy designed the CAPtivate to illuminate this waste, both figuratively and literally, by turning tossed out bottle caps into something a bit more ambient. Each light comes with 50 caps; to cover the light completely, however, it requires some reuse by you. Consider it an opportunity to channel your inner Edison – or your essential Tesla – while greening up a patch of landfill.

The CAPtivate retails internationally for £128.00, approximately $206 in the United States.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

It’s official: I’m in love. No, not with a ruggedly handsome musician who also happens to compost in his backyard or a super-geek with a soft spot for design. I’m in love these fabulous and very pricey lamps. It’s not easy looking at dazzling décor pieces day after day, squelching the urge to whip out the credit card and charge up a storm, but somebody’s gotta do it. And a girl can still dream, right? Now that I’ve covered the sexy affordable lamps, here’s what our eyes – but maybe not our wallets – can handle.

1. Twisted Vine Floor Lamp ($1,275 – pictured above)
   Natural vines and a simple burlap shade give this floor lamp its fabulously modern appeal.
2. Metaform Conga Light ($700)
   This recycled light is handmade from FSC maple veneer for a natural look that evokes its namesake.



3. Celebrity Lamp ($1,600)
   Some of you may scoff at this lamp, but I like its sleek modern look. And nobody else I know owns a lamp made from 40 pairs of recycled aviator glasses!



4. Varaluz Aisen Collection Recycle Steel Floor Lamp ($854.91)
   Part sculpture, part light fixture, and thoroughly modern, this floor lamp makes quite the dramatic statement.



5. Spiral Floor Lamp ($2,630)
   With an alluring round shape perched on top of a tripod, this floor lamp is destined to become a conversation piece.

Lamps not only light up my life, but they ooze personality and flair. If you don’t want to skimp on style, but can’t afford a haute designer-labeled lamp, fortunately, there are plenty of lighting options that fit the bill without breaking the bank. Here are five our faves, all for under $450.

1. Weathered Wood Floor Lamp ($249 – pictured above)
   Bring a bit of the outdoors in with this floor lamp made of hand-picked, sun-dried driftwood.
2. Recycled French Bottle Lamp ($429)
   Available in several different hues, this cool, curvy lamp adds warmth and an alluring shape to your space.
3. Infinity Energy Star Fluorescent Bamboo Accent Table Lamp ($298)
   Shoji glass and simple, Asian-inspired shapes give this accent lamp its stylish appeal.
4. Cancan Floor Lamp (listed for $330 on Neena’s Lighting)
   We love the sleek shapes and whimsical patterns of Light’s Up lamps. This one has a few different options for shades.
5. Ruby Lamp from Babette Holland Design (listed for $390 on multiple sites)
   Babette Holland’s lamps have a distinctively polished, yet organic quality that we love. She also also uses recycled materials as much as possible.

Back in middle school, I was obsessed with collages. I tore out favorite magazine photos or ads and artfully (or so I thought) arranged them on binders, book covers, even covered the inside of my locker. No surface was safe from me and my glue stick!

I’ve since outgrown that style of decorating, but these recycled paper lamps ($84) reignited my love of bright colors and layers upon layers of paper. In my opinion, there’s a more sophisticated way to incorporate fun colors and shapes into a room. And it’s apropos, because I use my living room lamp primarily for late-night magazine marathons.

Created by Etsy seller picapicadesign, the lamps are made from all recycled materials, combining used lamp bases and coil strips of magazine pages. And since each lamp base is a slightly different shape and size, no two are alike.

I can just picture these lamps illuminating a modern living room or bedside table. You could group a few lamps of varying sizes together (like the ones pictured above) or let one lamp fly solo, creating an instant focal point in the room. Not in the market for a new lamp? Similar style vases are also available.

Dutch designer Daniel Schipper has fashioned a pendant lamp out of recyclable white or transparent plastic. We dig the lamp’s modernity and versatility (it could just as easily light up a living room, office, or bedroom), but we’re even more fascinated by Schipper’s business model. He’s calling it the 100×100 lamp because he only plans to make 100 lamps and sell them for 100 Euros each. Production starts once pre-orders reach 100, and customers aren’t charged until then.

It’s an interesting concept, but it means that customers will have to wait indefinitely to receive their 100×100 lamp. On the flip side, it also means that Schipper doesn’t have to worry about footing the bill for production costs before he knows if there’s enough demand for the product.

So, what do you get for your 100 Euros? A lampshade, frame, transparent electrical wire, and a stainless steel lamp socket – which customers assemble themselves. But we’re guessing that most customers aren’t concerned about the price tag or the possible wait time, because they’re thrilled to be supporting an indie artist and getting a limited edition (not to mention eco-friendly) lamp in the process. Samples are on display at several locations in Amsterdam.