When we decorate our homes, we often focus on the big things: furniture, wall colors and coverings, rugs, art, bedding. But sometimes the finishing details fall by the wayside until it’s time to put everything together. And one of those crucial details is lighting. Lighting is important for a multitude of reasons. It’s not just about how a lighting fixture looks in the space: it’s how that light makes the space look. Poor lighting can make your home look muddled and muddied, and can cast a shadow over your otherwise impeccable designs. Whether you’re redecorating a room from scratch, or just want to cast your existing design in a better light, here are our suggestions on how to light up your life:
Victorian chandeliers are back in fashion.
If your taste tends towards the rustic, antique, or farmhouse styles, vintage lighting can best shine the light on your personal style. Firefly & Co. out of St. Petersburg, FL create incredible lamps and fixtures out of reclaimed industrial pipe. Many of them, cleverly, incorporate faucets as the off-on switch. They also incorporate Edison bulbs which have become very trendy lately, and they add a bit of elevation and elegance to these lamps. They’re the perfect embodiment of the industrial-rustic style we love. Other old-fashioned lamps can include: repurposed hurricane lamps wired for electricity, wall lights or table lamps with brushed metal shades, and vintage copper-domed pendants. Any of these could add another layer of intrigue, whether your style is cozy farmhouse, stark brutalism, or somewhere in between.
Nature-inspired decor has been showing up on lots of lists as a trend to look forward to in 2019, whether that manifests in wallpaper with lush tropical foliage, fabrics with intricate Victorian florals, or furniture crafted from bamboo, rattan, or other raw and unfinished woods. A less obvious choice is to bring that nature element in through lighting, but it can add a neat and unconventional twist to the trend. A circular chandelier decorated with delicate branches and blossoms studded with lights has the neat effect of combining a geometric structure with more ethereal shapes. We’re also seeing a lot of great lighting fixtures crafted from malleable metals that allow you to literally shape your own lighting design. Track lighting with bendable metal luminaires evoke a tree branch with little shoots, and pendant lights with malleable metal boughs resemble the head of a dandelion.
Classic lights in the kitchen are all the rage now.
If your taste skews to the modern side, there are a plethora of lighting options for you to choose from. What gives lighting a modern flair can vary: it can come down to materials, shape, or even futuristic elements. LED lighting has come to the forefront of late, whether it’s in things like color-changing lamps or track lighting. Even ceiling fans with attached lighting are now incorporating LEDs which allows more functional features like dimming. Brass is currently having its moment as the metal of choice in decor. Vintage brass floor or table lamps paired with midcentury modern furniture add a luxe element. Lighting that uses geometric elements is also a great feature for modern-style homes. Abstract art with bold colors can really come to life under an angular metal light fixture: meanwhile, an overhead fixture made to look like a sunburst becomes a work of art itself when deployed well.
Great interior design is all about telling a story. It’s all about finding the right style for the space, and being thoughtful of every element from furniture to tiles to flooring, to rugs, to art, and more. It’s important to carry that same level of care into every detail, instead of letting them fall by the wayside. Not only do the right light fixtures cast your room in, quite literally, the best light, they can add their own bit of character to the design tale you’re telling.
