Decorating with Lamps – Take a step away from the traditional method of lighting your home. YES! Away from the ordinary ceiling light in the center of the room; or the ever so replicated four wall-lights in the living room. Some people have a strong need to break away from traditional lighting, but budgeting for solutions such as recessed or rail lighting can seem to be really quite prohibitive.  In this article we set out to prove that breaking free from the traditional lighting mould can still be done without breaking the bank.

Today there’s a huge selection of floor and table lamps.  Why not introduce the concept of both down- and up-lighting with canopy lighting (up-lighting), by way of a magnificently sculptured 72” floor-lamp, and direct lighting (down-lighting) from an elegant retro designed table-lamp.  

The lighting effect resulting from the use of carefully placed free standing lamps is actually an optical illusion – their direction of light flow tends to make a room seem more spacious than its actual size.  Thus, the use of free standing lamps is ideal for smaller rooms, and awkward shaped rooms.

For example, imagine, for a moment, a four cornered room with an elegantly modern ‘L’ shaped couch and a loveseat, both facing a floor to ceiling wooden entertainment center.  

One of many lighting concepts that come to mind is to situate two magnificent 72”
floor-lamps offering canopy lighting on either side of the entertainment centre.  A single table-lamp can then be situated on a side-table positioned alongside either end of the ‘L’ shaped couch.  If you have a large living room, then it would be applicable to positioned two table-lamps on side-tables at either side of the sitting area.

This is a concept boosts the ambience of the room in two ways.  Firstly, the 72” floor-lamps act as an added focal-point whilst at the same time providing canopy lighting that illuminates the entire room.  The table-lamp, on the other hand, further accentuates the elegant couch, and provides a third focal-point.  In addition, the table-lamp provides a balance in light distribution and softens the atmosphere of the room.  You should find that the middle of your couch is also sufficiently well lit for you to read comfortably.

In a standard, four cornered bedroom with the bed situated in the middle of the room with bedside tables on either side of the bed and a loveseat in the far opposite corner of the room, once again, canopy lighting can add a boost.  Bedroom lighting design with lamps tends to vary according to the size of the room – obviously, a smaller room might require the use of only two table lamps on either bedside table.  However, when using lamps, a standard rule is that it is essential to have some form of canopy lighting.  You can do this using table lamps simply by ensuring height and lampshades are such that the desired effect is created.

One of the most used lighting design concepts for the bedroom is to situate lamps in the corners of the room, diagonally across from each other.  This concept tends to optically stretch a room; hence making it seem larger, less claustrophobic and more spacious than its actual size.  To soften the somewhat harsh effect this creates, it is essential to place a small table lamp on the bedside tables.  To complete the effect, we should position a floor lamp offering canopy lighting, at the end of the love seat.  This would, of course, also aid nighttime reading as it provides a direct light source.

Decorating with lamps is an inexpensive way to give your home a truly personal touch.  And at uniquelifestyles.com, our aim is to ensure that our clients are not only purchase lights to furnish their homes but to accentuate the beauty of the home, while expressing their unique lifestyle.