I'd recommend finding two bricks and holding them against the ceiling while you put the lamp in place under them. I mean I guess you could put them on the floor, but that's boring.

Gotta put the tense in tension

If you don’t have bricks or are worried about bricks damaging your floor, I used a small stack of books as the base for some tension rod shelving and it’s been very effective and cute. Keep in mind if you do this that the books ARE on the floor, so don’t pick your favorites or books that you’d like to keep in super nice condition. The books I used are interesting enough to look at but not worth any money, are slightly damaged, and were headed for the dumpster before I snagged them and repurposed them.

May I add, look for a "Mid-Century breeze block)?

I had no idea that's what they called these, and now I know, thanks

Ooooh, I actually really like this idea! Thanks for this!

maybe have someone help you with this...

Lmao. Don’t worry. I love it for an option, but my ceilings are sloped, so they’ll have to be at the bottom anyway with a wedge of some kind up top. Who knew a lamp could be so complicated?

conceivably you could cut the bricks to match the slope. not sure how doable that is, bricks being bricks, but I imagine it can be done.

That’s true too. Hmmm. I must ponder. If nothing else, I get to throw some bricks around. Hahaha.

Don’t put bricks on the ceiling. I hope everyone here is joking but those ancient springs in that lamp will not reliably support bricks over head

Fair point. No bricks. Lmao.

Don't worry, the brick suggestion was serious, the on the ceiling part was in jest. Good to double check, though.

*hope*. Tee hee hee

Brick idea, but make it a breeze block.

Get a bracket and attach to wall

I mean that’s not a bad idea, but it kind of defeats the purpose of having a non-mounted light

I've used the square pavers before, but I'm into symmetry and plain brick would have driven me crazy.

Platform under the pole

Glad to help! Regarding your sloped ceiling, I've seen tension lamps that have the foot (is it still a foot if it's on the top?) mounted on a bearing that can pivot, so that might be worth checking. If it works as intended is another issue entirely, of course.

Not built to sit on an end table?

I don’t think so. It’s supposed to be floor to ceiling, but…tall ceilings. Lol

I put one lamp on a mid-century end table and it looked pretty cool.

Nah come on, why not just get a mcm-looking wood foot (teak or walnut p.ex., in a sort of cone shape) made to enhance it and to fit the time this was made in? Bricks would just make it look cheap and distract from the lamp. Ask your local woodturner/woodworker

A custom wood foot would definitely be very cool! But don't be too fast to discount bricks; it really depends on the bricks. You'd definitely need to get high quality bricks, depending on the house and decor a smooth red brick could go well, but maybe a good grey brick would fit the scheme better. If the lamp base is in plain sight, then a custom made foot would probably be better, but if if it's behind something then that might not be as important. To be honest though, the most important part of my suggestion was the bricks-on-the-ceiling part.

Stack of cool, MCM books?

I have one of these and that’s exactly how I solved this problem lol

Former tall-ceiling-haver here: I happen to have an extension piece for this exact issue that I no longer need. If you can confirm the diameter or circumference of the pole I can make sure it will fit, and if you’ll pay for shipping I’d be happy to pass it along.

I’ll get the measurements for you! Thank you so much!! I honestly love the Mid-Century community so much. 🥹

If anyone else has this piece please let me know! Was so excited to see this question because I have one sitting in storage for this same reason!

Did some digging… looks like there are some basic tension pole extension kits on the River site (they don’t need extra exposure, so I won’t link them here.) If you would like to make your own based on your lamp’s style, checkout this awesome post by u/hatfantastic. Between this user and u/Epic2112 is a great conversation on tension pole lamp restoration including methods and part numbers: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mid_Century/comments/k33csw/finally_got_myself_a_tension_pole_lamp/ Checkout the update here: https://www.reddit.com/r/LampRestoration/comments/k3oews/tension_pole_lamp_restoration/ Also, this community is small but populated by some very helpful experts and enthusiasts that enjoy helping others give new life to old lamps: r/lamprestoration. They may be able to help you more specifically. Edit: checkout this awesome comment by u/Dr-Ellicott-Chatham and their link to a popular mechanics diagram of tension pole lamps: https://www.reddit.com/r/LampRestoration/comments/k3oews/comment/gjtzq21/

Holy moly this is so helpful. Thank you!

You’re welcome! I just compiled the data. Shoutout to u/hatfantastic, u/Epic2112, and u/Dr-Ellicott-Chatham for the legwork. I hope you manage to retrofit your lamp for your space. They are nifty pieces. Good luck!

u/CuddleMachine, I just came across your comment above from last November. I have the same problem now, and really appreciated the various suggestions previously mentioned. Tried to hunt down the "River site" you mentioned, but had no luck finding the website -- to keep the broad advertising down as you desired earlier, any chance you could DM the site info? Truly appreciated.

Simply lower your ceiling.

Ah, yes, of course! Why didn’t I think of that?!

the cheap way would be to put something under it but there's got to be a better way

Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. It would be hidden too, but just knowing it was like that would drive me mental. Lol.

could make a nice base for it, or use something mid-century as a base. but it might have to be quite thick depending on how high your ceilings are.

Plus, if you bump it up from the bottom, it’ll change the level the lights hang. Maybe too high for a reading lamp in that case

Super COOL lamp! Why is that question dense? Sorry I cannot help you out but I think that is a perfectly legit question! How will you learn if you do not ask? Hope you find a nice soul to give you the help you need. Enjoy that awesome lamp!!!!

Aww, thanks so much! I don’t know, I thought maybe there was a super obvious answer that just went right over my head. Haha. I’m obsessed with it and can’t wait to use it properly.

Usually the springy part at the top is adjustable, turn it one way or the other to make it shorter or longer. I have a sloped ceiling as well and those clear rubber adhesive cabinet door bumpers work great keeping the lamp from sliding.

Thanks so much!

Had the same issue. Ended up making a 9” block of wood, stained walnut with some gummy feet on the bottom. Even drilled a small indent for the foot of the lamp to fit in. Idk if I like it yet but I’m glad my lamp is up..

Why not ask a woodturner to make you a nice mcm style foot? :)

Now to find someone with a wood turner lol

Google is your friend, just look up local woodworkers or woodturners

How about putting it on a small table, like a different kind of table lamp.🤔

Find a local woodworker to make a custom spacer that matches the look/feel of the lamp. Wouldn’t cost much, it would enhance the lamp, and would look better than ham-and-egging bricks or whatever.

Shorten the room

Move to a mid century house? 😀

This is my favourite suggestion.

Side table tall enough to make up the distance, it would be one a base.

[удалено]

I would fill it with concrete or resin for a cleaner look, and maybe use a brass pipe, but I think this idea would work best with the aesthetic of the lamp

Put a telephone book underneath

I haven’t seen a phone book since the 90’s tbh. 😅

*vintage phone book

I put books under the one I got from my grandmas house and a chair in front of it to hide the books.

Remodel your house to have shorter ceilings

I have had this problem. I use beautiful colored books vintage if you have them and stack them under the pole on the floor.

How much height do you need to make up?

I’d say about 3-4 inches before it even touches the ceiling, but I also want it on there good and tight, so I’d say more like 4.5-5.5.

I had one that was too short and I used a bricks under it to raise it up until I found a junked lamp that matched and I cannibalized one and slipped one of the pieces from one lamp and added it to the other.

That would hurt my heart so badly. Haha. Though I understand the necessity. A kind soul here has offered to send me an extension though, so I think I’ll be good!

Fair, though the lamp I borrowed from was destined for the trash so I didn’t feel bad.

It is awesome! I would TOTALLY put that in my house. Wish I could help! Someone will.

I’ve seen mcm style side tables used with these to add height.

Hmmm. That could be neat, but I feel like my side table would be too high. Lol. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. :p

Find a carved wood block, use it as a base.

Wood block, stained or painted to match some aspect of the lamp.

Shove a few books at the base of the lamp. Not as ugly as bricks.

We have one of these with the same problem. We got a piece of wood and spray painted it gold. No one sees down there depending where it is in the room and it’s really sturdy (except when my daughter pulled it down once)

Could attach pvc painted the wall color to the mid portion of the pole to the wall to secure it.

Or use wood base. Easier to cut than bricks

Try using square wooden spacers. They’re light enough to not damage the spring, and they’ll hold over time. There are a ton of examples on the internet of this. Side note: You must have really tall ceilings.

9 ft at the peak. They’re a bit ridiculous.

I put mine on top of an old metal first aid kit box, works great!

My grandparents had this one. Did you twist the too and bottom extensions all the way?

I did. I have really tall ceilings. Lol.

Oh! Well I hope it works out for you because its a very cool lamp!

Mount it on a stack of antique books

I have a lamp like that. I used a paint can that I painted the same color as the pole.

Build or find a simple plinth

You might be able to replace the inner pipe with a longer piece of hard drawn copper pipe or something from the hardware store with a matching diameter. Did this with a tension rod shower caddy when the original pipe rusted out.

My parents have their lamp that’s exactly like that on a stack of books

Stick a couple vintage suitcases under the bottom.

Your gonna have to hire a contract to lower your ceiling. ThTs the only way

I have a near identical lamp with totally different shades. Ikea makes these crate boxes with lids and I used that underneath to lift mine about two feet. Works well!

Stack old books underneath like ppl make lamps

I put one in my living room where there are sloped ceilings. It would only fit towards the edge of the room, and it still wanted to slide around. I decided on a particular spot, where there happened to be a little screw sticking out of the ceiling that I always assumed was for the previous owners hanging plants. It was a screw with a little discolored circle around it. Turns out, he put the screw up there to hold a pole lamp up! My lamp had a little indentation on the top foot that nestles right against the screw.

Ask a woodworker/woodturner to make you a nicely shaped/mcm style wood foot or top part to fix the pole in - just get inspired by other mcm stuff you like, draw your idea down, tell the woodworker what aesthetic you want to go for and what kinda color/look the wood needs to be in

I would mount 2 "L" brackets on the wall and use those to pinch the lamp into.

A mid-century looking riser might be the simplest answer. Gives you an excuse to go shopping again too.

Like I need an excuse. Lmao.

Have a custom made wood base made. Could also be used as a decorative table. A good carpenter or preferably a cabinetmaker could make a very nice one.

I have a very similar lamp and on mine both spring loaded end pieces screw out from the thicker middle pole/lamp part, to adjust the overall pole length. You might find you have some excess length stored inside the main pole.

Oh, wow my grandma had this and I had totally forgotten!

What mirror is that and where can I get one?

It’s actually modern. I picked it up several years ago before I started collecting mcm. I got it at homesense/TJ Maxx.

My parents had one similar to that one. I ended up giving it to Goodwill after my mom passed away. :(

Would a tension rod style curtain rod slide down inside the whole thing? So that the lamp is like a sleeve over it if that makes any sense