Update Your Lighting For Autumn
With the nights drawing in, we turn the lights on earlier, and maybe you've noticed your lighting could do with an update? Changing your lighting is a quick and easy way to improve the look of a room and bring it up to date. The entrance hall is the introduction to your home, so a good place to start, think about what kind of vibe you want and whether it needs to be bright, or mellow and welcoming. A wow-factor ceiling pendant in the lounge or a modern chandelier over the dining table could create a stunning talking point. Kitchen lighting is so important for the different tasks - cooking, entertaining or relaxing. Bathroom lighting has improved enormously with lots more styles to choose from that are safe to use in a wet area. Take inspiration from some of the stunning designs I have stumbled across below. I hope you like them.
Funky fashion and interiors designer Matthew Williamson has collaborated with lighting company, Pooky to create a fabulous new range - including this rechargeable table lamp on the mantelpiece. Floor lamps are ideal for corners like this as they don't take up a lot of space, brighten up dark corners and can be part of an overall lighting scheme, mood, they are also great for reading. This one is the Slider.
Not only a great colour combo in this space but see how cleverly this Porthos Antique Brass pendant, £714 and wall light, £66, picks up the design of the wallpaper and the brass side table. The set definitely has a retro feel with textured glass and elongated lenses to it but looks bang up to date too. Dar Lighting.
Tapping into our love of organic shapes, this round pendant is made from the finest bone china which gives a lovely glow. Each 'pebble' is attached with a brass slotted finial, and it has height adjustable wires with a brass ceiling rose and grey cotton braided cable. Perfect when teamed with natural, textured wood, earthy colours and tactile vases. Pebble pendant, £1499, Original BTC
Did you embrace the home bar trend in lockdown? This looks fabulous doesn't it? With an Art Deco look, the dish-shaped pendant is a real show-stopper. It's the Nimbus 6 light Polished Chrome Crystal pendant, £390, also from Dar Lighting. Staggered coffin (really, that is what they are called) crystals form a halo around the open centre. It's a large diameter but has a low profile, so would be good with lower ceiling heights and would be perfect in a lounge or over a dining table.
Going back to hallways, this Agatarla pendant, £295 from Nkuku is a great choice, it's simple but stylish and is made from traditionally-blown glass, so it's recyclable. Choose a designer light bulb for the best effect. It makes a great feature light in a hallway or in a stairwell. Available from 10th October.
Floor lamps have come into their own as a home accessory in their own right. This one is such a great piece with it's black stems at different heights, gathered in a bow tie cuff in antique brass then topped with milk glass globe shades, its the Caracas Tripod Floor Lamp, £1295 by Jonathan Adler
Another one from Davey, this is called a Diner 125 Pendant in Weathered Brass, £999. It's a bit different over a dining table, and works really well over a kitchen island too. Again it's height adjustable and just look at that fab table with its cage base and brass top - what a stunner. I think it was made by Bowles & Bowles but no longer seems to be available.
Into the bedroom and this room has it all. Starting with that split-face tiled wall - just beautiful, teamed with a curved headboard in an unusual fabric, a feather throw and leather side tables. All natural materials but with an sophisticated feel. Only stunning lights would do for this space, and these really add the perfect talking point. Large glass pendants suspended from brass chains, from lighting designers Amos Lighting.
As I said, bathroom lighting has improved enormously, so there are many more designs to choose from. I must admit I do like the stylish simplicity of these narrow pillar wall lights from Davey Lighting. They come with a brass or chrome finish, £475, each and again with an Art Deco theme. They are perfectly positioned on either side of the mirror - ideal for applying make up. And that brass basin and tap and fishscale design console are fantastic aren't they? Mind you I wouldn't fancy cleaning that sink, although they do look great when they have aged a little.
An update on an old favourite - picture lights - rather than the brass ones you see over pictures in traditional homes, this one brings them up to date and adds a really nice finish touch above contemporary art. Amos Lighting
And finally I thought I would add on a bit of fun - just love the madness of this floor light - the brass tree-effect vase, the profusion of grey ostrich feathers and it looks perfect in this room with it's traditional sofa in a funky fabric and the overlapping rugs. If I ever had a boudoir, it would have this in it. Aynhoe Ostrich Feather Floor Lamp, £4200 A Modern Grand Tour
