Lighting, The Jewelry of a Room

I can’t tell you how often people walk into a newly designed kitchen, with its custom cabinetry and gorgeous countertops, and the homeowners exclaim, “I love the lighting!” Lighting is a pivotal element of interior design and as a luxury custom interior designer, it’s our job to ensure that each space sparkles with the lighting that will make it shine.

Lighting Highlights the Design

Lighting fixtures, lamps, and their placement allow us to underscore the style of the room, or bring in some design tension that makes the space dynamic and delightful to live in. Corners that would otherwise be dark, architectural features desperate for the spotlight, and otherwise overlooked nooks suddenly become a sophisticated part of the overall design with the right treatment. In other rooms, lighting can be a quiet background element, gracing the walls with a soft wash of comforting light.

When we approach a room’s lighting choices as your custom interior designer, we ask ourselves how the lighting will punctuate the space. Will it be a period or an exclamation point? Understanding how lighting will finish a design helps us to select options with discernment to create the most captivating space possible.

Colors & Finishes

One of the biggest questions our clients ask us is: “Is it acceptable to mix metals?” Just like adorning yourself with jewelry, choosing a mix of finishes or metals is absolutely acceptable in your home. In fact, we encourage it.

The challenge is to find the balance between being too matchy-matchy while ensuring that every piece is in conversation with the others. That level of expertise is why it’s essential to work with a custom interior designer. Only years of experience can ensure that your mixed lighting elements work cohesively and don’t look like a mismatched collection that detracts from the feel of the room.

Your custom interior designer should encourage you to explore creative lighting elements but should also dissuade you from defaulting to just one style. When curating light fixtures, a good designer will ensure there’s not a sameness to each element.

We always ask ourselves how a lighting element will enhance a space. If it ultimately doesn’t add to the design, then it’s eliminated. It’s like Coco Chanel’s advise to women that  before leaving home, eliminate one accessory – less is sometimes more!

Don’t Forget About Lamps

Custom light fixtures can crown a room in elegance and sophistication, but a room is never complete without lamps. Lamps can be quiet design elements or show-stopping pieces in their own right.

Part functional lighting and part accessory,  lamps complement overhead fixtures and furnishings. They can reinforce the overall tone of the room, or create artistic interest by driving contrast. This is the exciting layered nuance that happens under the guidance of an insightful custom interior designer.

Whether you want a moody, sexy vibe, a crisp, brightly lit space, or something in between, careful selection of lighting fixtures, based on your unique design fingerprint is essential.

We’re thrilled to be your custom interior design team and bring your design dreams to life. To get started, contact us today.