Light up a Room
If you walk into my lounge, you will see right smack in the middle of our ceiling rose the most stunning black wrought iron look chandelier covered in hundreds of black beads reflecting light all over the room. A little over the top? Well I hope so. I spent hours painting that ceiling, so I will shamelessly do anything to get people to stare at it! That one light fixture is the heart of the design concept of our home, it makes a statement and I never get sick of looking at it. The reality was when we renovated I needed all new light fixtures - so I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to put style and design into my home through picking some stunning lights.
Lighting is important in homes. There is the very practical reason, you need lighting for a home to function at night, but many people don’t consider the design value of lighting. It’s a shame to see so many new homes move away from classic pendant lights and have downlights everywhere. There is nothing wrong with that practically, but having statement lighting fixtures in a few rooms brings a sophistication and style without costing the earth. I personally don’t think you can have a home with a designer touch without having stylish lighting.
No matter what age or style your house is, there are always certain areas that will welcome lighting with a bit of difference.
Bedside Pendants are a great option for lighting in a Master Bedroom. It frees up space of bedside tables and the power points, as you don’t need table lamps. Again, it makes impact and frames the bed.
I always look for opportunities to create dynamic lighting above the kitchen bench. If you are spending money redoing your kitchen, don’t miss the chance to have some beautiful pendants hung over the kitchen bench. Practically it is great to have focused light on the bench, and design wise it makes a kitchen come to life. Dining tables are another space that loves having statement lighting. Especially for open plan living, it is an easy way of defining a space.
Over the years, lighting stores have developed and sourced some stunning pieces. Lighting Direct and Lighting Plus have some great lighting options and frequent sales. I get my light fixtures from Eden Light and Mr Ralph, they import fixtures that are more on trend than the chain stores and are constantly updating their product range. Here are a couple of my favourite lights from Eden Light in their wood range:
