Light for elegant interiors

by giuliaester | Oct 18, 2019 | Design for the house, Interior Design, Products

What are the more appropriate lights for elegant interiors?

Have you ever dreamed of living in a sophisticated house, that screams luxury and good taste in every room? Don’t worry, your goal is perfectly achievable! First and foremost, light is one of the main factors when comes to define the tone and ambient in a space. Indeed lighting design is something to consider when you aim to make the difference.

Sometimes all you need is to select lights that can attract the attention. Definitely picking the right colours and the right furniture is essential, but I want to show you how simple can be to decorate a room simply with a good piece of design, just a single lamp. To reinforce the idea of how simple it can be, let’s have a look at the room down here. It is an empty room, a window on one side, completely blank canvas. Now let’s try to insert a nice lamp. What about this famous piece, Allegro by Foscarini?

As you can see the room does not look empty anymore, and it is suddenly colourful and warm, reflects of gold are painting the walls. We only added a single light, and done nothing more than that. If you are not quite convinced yet, have a look at these lamps by Curiosa & Curiosa, and imagine one of them in our empty space. Nice and colourful, right?

Select your lighting strategy

But, before even picking the piece you prefer, the first thing to do is to decide what is the right strategy to achieve the desired effect. In fact, the room can change completely based solely on your light design. What are the perfect lights for elegant interiors?

• Do you want to give focus to a specific area or create a dramatic effect at the centre of your room? A big ceiling lamp or a chandelier can do the trick.
  

• Diffuse light is particularly suitable for the spaces designated to relax. Table lamps and floor lamps, in particular, are appropriate for bedrooms and living rooms.
  

• If you need more light in a specific area or want to create interest, spotlights and small pendants will do the trick! Perhaps it is too dark to crop the carrots, or to work at your desk. No problem, there are lamps for any taste.
  

• Your ceiling is too low and you want to have a feeling of space. Directional lights and uplights are perfect to provide vertical emphasis and lift the space.
  

What materials should you use?

Once you have decided on what strategy to enact and what light effect you want to achieve, you can select the materials that suit your furniture better. In fact, the lamps should compliment the design and work together with the furniture to shape the room.

We want to create an interior which reflects elegance so brass, gold, copper, aluminium, marble and glass are all materials that give that luxury and sophisticated feeling we re looking for.

Personally, I love glass pendants and have a special passion for translucent marble and alabaster. Particularly, the latter, can be difficult to insert within a space without creating an overachieving and heavy design. But if correctly used, they are a big win and difficult to forget. Glass is easy to insert in any design, with an exception for extremely colourful ones. Metals like brass, copper and aluminium (gold or silver coated) are not very difficult, but they require a bit more of effort to match the rest of the room. The metal lamps come in so many styles and shapes that you need to pick the right fixture to bring the design together.

My favourite lights to create the perfect refined space

This is my personal selection of 10 lights for elegant interiors. Please, enjoy scrolling through!

#1 Mega Bulb gold pendant by &tradition

Materials : Mouthblown glass – porcelain (ceiling rose and bulb holder) and fabric cord. Available in different colours (clear glass, silver glass and gold glass).
This very elegant lamp is perfect for the living room or over your dining table. I can guarantee a very tasteful effect if applied in a row over the kitchen island.

#2 IC W1 Wall light by Flos

Materials : Blown glass opal diffuser. Available in brushed brass or chrome steel.
With a deco feeling, this lamp is perfect in corridors. It will give a nice soft and clear light which contrasts with the brass of the arm, for a refined space.

#3 Olympic LED Wall light by Fabbian

Materials : white painted aluminium structure and plastic material diffuser. The circular diffuser is available in different sizes with led strips along its entire length.
The simple geometry of this piece is simply irresistible. On its own can create patterns and shape a space. Suitable for hall and living spaces, will go better on clean and wide walls.

#4 Stone Pendant by Tom Dixon

Materials : Marble and Brass with brass ceiling rose.
I mentioned my love for marble? Well, needless to say that I love this lamp. It is perfect to create a chic corner. The diffuse light will give a soft accent to any wall.

#5 Astrée Pendant by Hartô

Materials : Blown dark glass and lacquered metal. Available in white too.
The elegant design of this lamp, together with its geometry, will create the nicer contrast against pastel walls. Perfect as a feature piece, will go very well with furniture with simple lines.

#6 Voronoi II bulb pendant by Tala

Materials : Mouth-blown and hand-assembled glass bulb with brass ceiling pendant.
The filaments inside are inspired by the Fibonacci sequence. How cool is that? The golden light they emanate screams luxury.

#7 Design Project No.046 by John Lewis

Materials : Opal and glass with a concrete base and brass details.
This table lamp is perfect for a side table. Whether in the bedroom or next to a nice armchair, its luxurious design will always be a discreet touch of elegance in anybody’s life.

#8 Bell Table Lamp by Tom Dixon

Materials : Hyper-polished pressed steel. Available in copper and steel.
This is probably not suitable for every space, but it will be simply stunning accompanying furniture with a simple line and a minimal design. Love the incredible reflects and the mirror effect.

#9 IC T1 Low Table Lamp by Flos

Materials : Blown glass opal diffuser and brushed brass.
A perfect feature piece for side tables or bedside table, the spherical bulb is floating against the simple brass lines, for the most magic effect.

#10 Mirror Ball Pendant Light by Tom Dixon

Materials : Polycarbonate globe and aluminium. Available in different shapes and finishes.
The futuristic design reminds of the pure white of the interiors of the sci-fi movies from the ’60s. Inspired by a space helmet, it looks like something ready to land on the Moon. Ideal for minimal spaces, It can give the right touch to industrial interiors.

Hope that now you have a better idea and know the correct lights for elegant interiors.

If you liked this list, have a look at some of the other lists I prepared in my ‘Products’ category.

Let’s discover more of the best design for the home and more lighting design together.