If a lamp were an outfit, its cord would be the shoes. Even the best lamp can look eh with a run-of-the-mill vinyl cord. On the other hand, you'll give even a so-so lamp a second look if it sports an interesting cable. The bright red cord is one of the reasons we love the Glam table and the black Caravaggio Lamp. Also Alexander Taylor's Fold Light and Harri Koskinin's Block lamp. None of these lights would be as memorable to us with a typical white or black cord attached. Our current favorite textile cords come from a Swedish company, Frinab...
Frinab, in the west of Sweden, produces and sells textile cords which they design themselves in a range of colors and patterns. On their website they even give the corresponding Pantone color for most cables. And you can order cable samples.
You can also find textile cords online in US stores like Sundial Wire, in both smooth and twisted styles. Sundial sells both cotton and rayon covered cords in several muted colors that lend themselves more to elegant or antique lighting looks, certainly not as bright as those from Frinab. Prices at Sundial are not expensive and average about $1.35/ft.
We wouldn't recommend anyone replacing a lamp cord themselves and you should check with the cord company to find out what wattage of bulb the wiring supports. We've taken lamps locally to Chimera Lighting in Boston's Fort Point Channel for rewiring, and also to change out european plugs.
>>>Frinab's web site
>>>Sundial Wire
>>>Chimera Lighting (Boston)
These look like the new leashes my neighborhood pet store just got in I am debating whether or not to get one. Not a need I keep telling myself and my dog could careless.
view LoriSF's profile
Maybe it's just me, but shouldn't the cords be as inconspicuous as possible. I'd really rather focus on the lamp itself.
view judy in TO's profile
great find!
view Aaron's profile
I think it depends, judy. Sometimes you want the cord not to be noticeable, and sometimes, especially with certain pendants that you can't hide the cord, it can be a really cool detail. Look how nice that red cord looks on the black lamp in the picture. If that were an ordinary variety of white or black electrical cord, you would want to hide that. That fat round cloth covered cord looks like piping on a chair by contrast.
When I say you can't hide the cord, most people use chain or those puffy snake looking sleeve things. Not a fan of the latter. Chain is okay, don't love it. Cloth-covered cord is also very appropriate for lamps of a certain vintage, as long as you don't get it in bright aqua or tennis ball yellow.
view K T G's profile
This is one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" products! Love it. The array of colors is fantastic.
view Capree's profile
I think the beauty of a plastic encased cord is that it doesn't get dirty. Have you even cleaned behind a table and looked at what can accumulate on a lamp cord dust/dirt-wise?
On the other hand, these appeal to the 80's kid in me that lusted after a similar rainbow of shoelaces with teddy bears and hearts printed on them...
view LilyC's profile
You could achieve a similar effect by sewing grosgain ribbon--or similar--around an existing cord. I am thinking of certain kinds of binding/edging ribbon that come in similar patterns and that you can find at upholstery or specialty ribbon stores. (It wouldn't be any cheaper, though.) I agree that this looks much better than the gathered "snakes", as KTG mentions.
view BethA's profile
beautiful
I am ordering the samples today!
view hood's profile
view littleinkpot's profile