While I might be mistaken, I don’t believe I’ve ever actually touched an authentic “beach ball.” You know the kind I mean: made of squishy plastic, criss-crossed with whimsical wedges of garish color, ever-at the whims of the impish ocean breeze. In my historical imagination, this is the type of diversion favored by turn-of-the-century gentlemen sporting handlebar mustaches and clad in striped one-piece wool bathing trunks.

Beach Ball Lamp Shade. Manufactured by TOBYhouse.

But perhaps I’m confusing decades somewhat and the artifact actually belongs to the 1960s—for how else to explain the modern vintage appeal of the TOBYhouse Beach Ball Lampshade? This 40cm diameter spherical shade is an actual retired beach ball (made of PVC) “that has been treated so as to have a ‘rock hard’ polyurethane inner, and yet remains ‘untouched’ on the outside.” Designed to work with existent pendant set-ups and CFCs, installation of the Beach Ball Lamp Shade requires no particular expertise, no familiarity with amperes or volts, just the modicum of domestic skill neeed to remove an old shade and fit a new one (though it is on the heavy side at just over a kilo).

Given the ease with which the piece can be integrated into existing decor, it’s one of those eminently tempting accessories (see also Oclock and the Twist Together Lamp) that can transform the look of a room. Match it with cool summer blues and whites to create a beach side ambience (if I close my eyes I can picture Brigette Bardot in St. Tropez); suspend a multitude of them for a funhouse ambience; or use their bold colors to complement an accent wall or a standout furnishing. No matter how you choose to employ this cleverly re-constituted (and recycled) artifact of summer fun, it’s certain to provide an eye-catching dash of levity and light!

via Yatzer