IT’S financially burdensome to swap high-ticket items such as sofas just to keep up with design trends. If you want to change the look of a room without having to spend an arm and a leg, substitute lamps.
The first thing people notice about a space is the quality of the light. When you turn on a table lamp, the eye is instantly drawn to it because it is more luminous than anything else in that space.
When it comes to lamps, there is now an amazing assortment of styles, shapes, forms and textures.
Colors and finishes
Table lamps in traditional polished brass suggest classic elegance, updated in vivid reds and warm shades with urn body shapes and silk fabric shades.
Done in glass, ceramic or porcelain, contemporary lamps are admired for their clean lines, making them interesting focal points. Tiffany lamps, popular in the late 19th century, are collected for the flower and foliage motifs in bright glass work.
Some lamps have bases designed like tree branches. Neo-classic designs have trademark acanthus leaves, ivy and fluting. Country cottage lamps have weathered finishes, nature themes and wrought iron scrolls.
Metal finishes range from brilliant polished steel to subtle shades like bronze and pewter. With greater texture, they bring personality to the lamps.
Color is another major trend, with the popularity of iridescent shades—rich and bronze tones such as red, nature colors such as orange, and aqua hues and earth tones such as burnt orange, olive green and aubergine. Colored lamps add zest to neutral space.
After seasons of drippy, fancy, over-embellished resin bases, lamps are becoming simpler in design, using natural fabrics such as wood, ceramic, brass, slate, iron and marble.
Quirky shades and shapes
Lampshades are also getting quirky in shape and color. In the past, white or cream shades were de rigueur. Today, darker shades and patterns are more popular, especially when used as accent lighting.
Designers are also moving away from the classic bell shape and pleats and are reviving the retro drum shades. They are also providing different treatments and fabrics, such as Murano glass or handmade paper.
Although table lamps are for functional illumination, tinier lamps are used as accents to enhance the surroundings. Given their petite size, they can be set on unconventional places such as windowsills and bookshelves. Overscaled table lamps are also favored by people who want to make a design statement.
Interior and accessories designer Ricardo David began designing lamps after clients asked him to recycle their vases. He then produced specialty lamps when designer Eric Paras asked him to consign his works.
For an auction, he designed a wrought iron urn lamp, which nobody bought at first. Thinking it was a failed bid, David was about to remove it when somebody bought it outright. Today, his most salable style is the red wrought iron Chinoiserie lamp.
Fashion and function
David recalls that when he started 10 years ago, the market favored modern metal lamps in silver, black and gray. Today, consumers favor embellished styles, particularly shades with shirrings, pleats and prints in bright or subdued colors; and English lamps with floral shades.
His favorite creations include a Spanish glass base with a thick black canvas shade superimposed with prints by fabric designer William Morris; a wooden-base lamp with a tobacco finish and a pumpkin-shaped glass lamp accented with crystal drops; and a blue and white vase lamp with a fruit on top in shades of light blue and green.
David’s works have become collectibles because they bring life to any room and blend with any decor scheme. He says the market for decorative lamps is growing. Proof of this is his lamps’ popularity despite their high prices.
With the emphasis on fashion and function in decorative lamps, consumers are certainly getting enlightened.
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