apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We got this from Holly over at Haus Maus, and immediately remembered the old post. Originally designed by Irving Harper, the lamp has seen many reincarnations, but this version by Buro Fur Form is available through For Living, a company based in Europe (and we don't read German so we're not sure if you can get it delivered to the states). However, we were left wondering if we could get a similar effect by painting the outside of the sockets in our DIY - is that safe?