Old lamps are easy to find — junk shops, flea markets, antique stores and yard sales are full of them. Some might be hideous, but others might look great in your living room — as long as you do something about those exposed wires.
Fortunately, cleaning up and rewiring old lamps is a fairly straightforward task. You'll need pliers, a screwdriver, a wire cutter and a lamp rewiring kit that contains a socket, cord and plug.
1. Make sure the lamp isn't plugged in, then use the screwdriver to press the sleeve of the socket (the part where the bulb screws in) out. If the socket is labeled with "press here," press your thumb against the inscription and lift the sleeve off.
2. Pull the socket up and snip the old wires with the wire cutter, then flip the lamp over and unscrew the nut on the bottom of the base. Pull the thread up and remove the old socket, then pull the cord out of the bottom of the lamp.
3. Feed the new cord from the lamp kit through the hole in the bottom of the lamp until it comes out at the top, then attach the new socket.
4. Split the top two inches of the wires by cutting along the groove with the wire cutters and remove approximately one-half inch of insulation from each wire. Tie the split cords using an underwriter's knot — the lamp kit should have illustrated instructions.
5. With the screwdriver, loosen the screws on each side of the new socket — brass for hot, silver for neutral. Check your lamp kit instructions to determine which wire is hot, then wrap the exposed hot wire around the brass screw. Wrap the other wire around the silver screw, then tighten the screws again to secure the wires.
6. Snap the sleeve back onto the socket and plug the lamp in to test.