Category Archives: Interior Design

I suppose my love for black chandeliers comes from the versatility of the product. Many rooms are incorporating black elements naturally and it should be equally natural to dress the room with a black chandelier. Sadly it is rarely the case. There are various degrees of “blackness” within black chandelier designs and therefore plenty for you to choose from.

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Despite the lack of variety there are some stunning red chandeliers that would most certainly put the finest of finishing touches into designer rooms.  There are great deal of designs across the variety of rooms that are begging for a red chandelier however the plea for one comes largely unanswered.

There is a hint of hesitance to use red within a family home however this passionate, sensual  colour brings spark and confidence to a room that could other wise be uninteresting.

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Chandeliers do come in many shapes and sizes in fact you could well do a postgraduate doctorate study on all the different styles and how they have evolved over the years. Now contemporary chandeliers tend to be more a design statement which will fall in and out of fashion as time goes by. Also with a contemporary chandelier there are no strict rules and regulations and the design can be as wild and flamboyant as the designer’s imagination. You can have something very simplistic with a few twirls of stainless steel or indeed a few striking glass globes hung at irregular heights or at the other extreme suspended glass bubbles intertwined with fibre optic lines to produce a statement of style in decorative lighting.

When it comes to traditional crystal chandeliers the landscape of design choices is more regulated. The designs for example Maria Theresa have been around for centuries and are proven and loved designs which have really stood the test of time. However at a more fundamental level 2 styles of traditional crystal chandelier are either the ornate brass armed chandelier or the glass armed style. The ornate brass armed chandelier tends to be more simplistic in design but would have some ornamental brass work both on the arms and the central piece of the chandelier. These brass chandeliers then would either have no crystals at all or just a splattering of crystal trimmings to add some sparkle to the ornamental light. If you analyse the chandeliers in stately homes you will more generally find the brass chandelier has been the favoured choice. It is a statement of design elegance and class but does not overpower the look of the room and take away too much attention from the other ornate design work in the room for example decorative cornices or an ornamental ceiling. It this case the chandelier has a significant presence but is almost understated as a design artefact which means it can add the class without needing an abundance of crystal to take your eye.

At the other extreme you might be looking for a single centrepiece chandelier to take attention and bring a real wow factor into the interior design concept. In this case then the more crystal the better and it is best if you see no metalwork at all. This then gives the maximised solution from a Bling perspective and will add a tremendous boost through the shear impact of the sparkling crystal in the room. Now it is important to use a high quality crystal and here one of the major contributors to the level of sparkle and high quality reflections is the lead content of the crystal. So you need to select a crystal with at least 24% PbO content to ensure that the light refracts through it to cast a multitude of reflections of all colours of the rainbow around the room when the sun shines through the windows.
So that really sums it up in terms of the design choice on Bling and at the end of the day it does come down to personal choice.

How to select a Chandelier for a modern commercial building  Read more...

So what kind of light bulb is needed for a Chandelier?

Chandeliers have been around a long time before the invention of the light bulb  in 1879, in fact they have been used centuries before his birth in 1847! The original chandeliers were wooden and held candles on the ends of the arms . One of the benefits of the chandelier in the times before the electric light bulb was the fact that the chandelier had a multitude of arms and therefore could hold a great number of candles. As the light output, or candle power, as it is sometimes termed is only small for each candle this meant that you could get an acceptable illumination level in the room. The idea of the chandelier lived on and in the in the 18th century when the bohemian glass-makers made their fine chandeliers they still used the candle as the prime illumination source.  Read more...

In Search of that extra dimension in Architectural Lighting.

Certain interiors demand that something extra. This is especially true for a contemporary styled interior where the minimalist look can sometimes look somewhat bare and plain. It is certainly good to have some striking black and white floor tiles with some plain black soft furnishings complemented by some blinds with clean sleek lines. However, without elegant lighting the whole effect can be lost. There has been a phase of using strategic spot lights for the desired lighting scheme and this can be effective from an illumination perspective but the lights themselves have no aesthetic beauty. It is often good to enhance the back lighting with a striking centrepiece Chandelier that will catch the eye of all who enter.  Read more...

The Chandelier Dilemma!

Chandeliers are well recognised as items of beauty and distinction and can be found in a whole host of distinguished buildings. Traditional chandeliers will take the prime position in high class hotels or add splendor to a museum or art gallery, but we do not all have properties like these to ornament with a fabulous classic design chandelier!! Invariably properties these days are far more modern and with the increasing number or properties being built then the percentage of Victorian or Georgian buildings,  with fabulous ornate ceilings which are crying out for traditional chandeliers, will naturally decrease.  So if you still want a crystal centrepiece to complement your modern home then what do you do?  Read more...

The Halogen Downlighter Fashion Phase!

About 2 decades ago halogen downlights were all the fashion. They were bright and new and people went to great lengths to install an array of downlighters in their kitchens and work areas. This invariably involved quite a lot of work to drill large holes in the plasterboard, install new wiring normally with 12 volt transformers and to clip in their chosen design downlighter. Now don’t get me wrong they do work well giving bright and clear directional light to an area which would typically of been quite dull with a standard pendant light.  Read more...

Doing up houses has been our obsession for a long time and got me to wonder. Why not do up a chandelier? By which I do not mean restoration that is best left to professionals, but making a tired chandelier look real good if not stunning. Following my thoughts I went to a car boot sale to look for a suitable candidate. Low and behold I have found one.

I have looked at it for a while to see what could be done and any visual defects. Apart of an inch thick layer of dust and one missing crystal I couldn’t see any.  Read more...

Owning a pink crystal chandeliers is definitely a bold feminine statement or conversely a gay one and for all the right reasons. A pink chandelier will always turn an eye and it doesn’t matter how much you spruce up your flat or room a pink chandelier will always top it all taking pride of place and proudly taking peoples wild attention. But choose wisely and don’t just buy the first one you see on impulse because initially it might look good but when you look closer is it really a statement of refined beauty and class. You can get a Chinese imported pink chandelier at a very low price but for certain it won’t pass the test of a discerning admirer and all your efforts will be wasted.  Read more...