(ARA) – If you’re planning to redecorate your home this
year, perhaps the most important aspect of your project
will be the decisions you make about lighting. It can
dramatically influence the feel of a room, making it warm
and inviting, cozy and comfortable, or cold and distant at
the flip of a switch.
“Whether you decide to go with recessed cans, lamps,
chandeliers, or pendants, decorative lighting is probably
the most important accessory you can buy. If chosen
correctly, it can have just as much influence on the look
and feel of a room as your best piece of furniture,” says
Joe Rey-Barreau, an architect, educational consultant for
the American Lighting Association and professor of
interior design at the University of Kentucky. He travels
the country tracking lighting trends and notes three major
movements underway right now:
* Casual elegance: The creation of warm, relaxed and
comfortable environments with casual lighting that is a
little more upscale in design.
* Simplified traditional: Remove the excess and
simplify. Decorative lighting here may be solid brass, but
stripped down and rich with antique patina.
* Soft contemporary: Clean, modern and simple in style.
While architectural in design, these fixtures are no
longer cold.
“Lights that complement a home’s architectural design
are really hot right now,” says Jeffrey Dross, trends
analyst for Kichler Lighting in Cleveland, Ohio. “For
example, there’s been a growth in the availability of
taller fixtures because homes being built today have
higher ceilings. Eight feet used to be the standard. Today
it’s more like nine or ten feet and you need to find ways
to fill the space.”
Dross also notes a change in the materials of choice
for those fixtures. “People are moving away from the
plastic and resin look that used to be so popular in newer
homes, and we’re seeing a return in popularity of the old
world look -- brass and copper, crystal chandeliers, and
things like that,” he says.
Major changes are also noted in the way people are
lighting up their dining rooms and kitchens. Over the past
five years or so, the decorative trend in kitchens has
moved more towards cherry and mahogany cabinets and away
from the oak ones. To compliment the look, lighting is
taking on a redder tone.
“People are using recessed cans as a primary source;
under-cabinet lights to brighten up areas where tasks,
like meal preparation, are performed; and they’re lighting
up the toe space and top of the cabinets with ambient
lighting that showcases them,” says Dross. “Fixtures, like
mini pendants are being added as decorative accents and
they frequently match or at least compliment the
chandelier in the dining room, particularly if the rooms
are close together.”
The lighting industry is also directing a lot of
attention at outdoor lighting this year. “These days,
people are spending more time than ever before on their
terraces, decks and patios, and since they’ve become an
extension of the house, they need to be lit up,” says
Kathy Held, who is a buyer and vice president at South
Dade Lighting in Miami, Florida.
Realizing the emergence of a new market, lighting
manufacturers are adapting their most popular designs to
outdoor living, using materials that can stand up to the
elements. Chandeliers, wall scones and table lamps made of
cast aluminum, which is more durable, won’t corrode or
rust, are now available in all shapes, sizes and colors.
Portable lights and table lamps that need to be plugged in
are UL rated so they won’t short out or cause a fire if
they get wet.
Landscape lighting is also getting more decorative.
“The security lights leading up to your house used to be
plain and unattractive. With all the decorative options
out there today, you can use them to introduce your
neighbors and guests to your taste before they walk
through the door,” says Held.
And don’t forget energy efficiency. The industry as a
whole is putting a lot of emphasis on that right now. “A
lot of companies have brand new decorative chandeliers,
pendants and table lamps out this year that take
fluorescent bulbs rather than incandescent ones,” says
Monty Gilbertson, a certified lighting consultant and
manager of Lighting Design by Wettsteins in La Crosse,
Wis. “Fluorescents last longer and are dimmable so they
use less energy than your everyday incandescent.”
For more information about the latest lighting trends
and how to achieve them, log on to the American Lighting
Association’s Web site at www.americanlightingassoc.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content
