Not Your Grandmother’s Chandelier – The Best and Brightest Modern Day Lighting Solutions

On a recent trip overseas I came across a trend that I’m just crazy about! Chandeliers in the bedroom.

I have always been a fan of drawing attention to ceilings and bringing a little glamour to the room in a house where we spend the majority of our time.

 This awesome mix of a traditional concept within a modern interior is totally intriguing and practical. Why not have something gorgeous and sparkly to look at before falling asleep?

It got me thinking about modern lighting in American interior bedrooms and what we can do to bring in glamour. I found Boushka, a lighting companyfocused on modern chandeliers. They used light projection, so patterns will appear on close-by vertical surfaces. They also use stranding – multiple strands hang from the interior of the fixture. I think their work is a great mix of traditional elements applied in a modern way. They have some all black fixtures that are very chic!

Modern chandeliers include “multi drop light” fixtures. They take up a large footprint on the ceiling, but they offer multiple bulbs that can be dimmed to create a multi-faceted glow.

These fixtures can be made from simply purchasing a single unit or by installing many fixtures on one ceiling. I think this becomes more of a lighting installation than a single chandelier. If you have a vaulted ceiling in your bedroom you could make this happen.

Use some traditional concepts in a new way and add some mood to the bedroom with new lighting. What do you have on your ceilings? Have you tried multiple lighting options in a single area?

Breaking the Rules…Modern Mix

The challenges that a lot of my clients experience today is finding a style that they like. Whether it is a modern Le Corbusier chair or a hand carved Queen Anne table, you may like both items and find yourself puzzled with how to make them work in the same environment. We live in a world of “change.” With modern day technology we see constant changes taking place all around us, which sometimes makes us want that to take place in our homes as well. For every time you’ve walked into your home and thought to yourself that a particular room needs something new or different there is a simple way to finally take action and start taking steps toward making that change. Whether you want to furnish that part of the house with classic furniture or modern furniture, with a few simple steps you can have the look you want and surprisingly they can both co-exist! The key is to decide what the room needs and what you want.

Let’s say, for example, you want to redo your master bedroom. The most common elements that you are dealing with are the paint, the furniture and the general design of the room itself. So maybe its as simple as finding an old vintage trunk at the foot of your sleek modern bed. How will these choices affect the rest of the room?

Well, to add balance and make it look deliberate, I would suggest pairing either of the two styles with perhaps a third piece like a modern Ghost chair in front of your grandmother’s vanity table in a corner. When it comes to lighting, perhaps the bedside lamps are mismatched, one being a sleek chrome modern style, paired with a vintage Victorian mirrored table lamp. Check out AllModern.com for some great ideas on modern furniture.

There is a big difference between redecorating the entire room and replacing a single piece and generally there are no rules when it comes to selecting the style of a piece of furniture, just so long as you can determine BALANCE. A few smaller items can really help define the room and make it your own.

Classic versus Modern Classic furniture has an appeal that is easy to understand. For instance, an antique curved end console has an intrinsic appeal that you find immediately attractive. And you think that there is no possible way you could place that behind your Florence Knoll sofa. Truth be told – you can! Break the rules, but follow through accordingly. Make sure that you add a vintage painting above the fireplace with an ornate frame to balance the console. Maybe find a modern Womb chair and a pair of traditional rolled arm club chairs. Go ahead and find a traditional vintage rug. A crystal chandelier could be accompanied with a modern tolomeo reading lamp. A sleek glass top coffee table and the room has achieved a modern mix! And I bet it will make you feel right at home. Please share your thoughts and feelings about the modern mix design…do you think you can do it?