Let There Be Light

Submitted by Randall Radic as part of our contributors program.

One thing that most people don’t think about much is lighting and lighting fixtures. If you’re like me, you pretty much take it for granted. You walk into a room, flick a switch and the lights go on. We expect it.

Light fixtures do more than simply provide light so you can see. If utilized properly, lighting becomes a design element that adds character and charm to your home or apartment. At the present moment, the lighting world is going crazy over LED lights (light emitting diodes). In fact, some experts are forecasting that LED lights will soon make incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent bulbs obsolete. Whether that’s true or not, LED lighting is becoming more and more popular for a number of reasons: LED lights are dimmable, use less energy, and LED technology have eliminated many of the problems associated with LED lighting, such as unsteady color and lack of brightness.

However, contrary to popular opinion, LED lights do produce heat, which remains a problem, and they are expensive compared to other forms of lighting. The high cost of LED lighting limits its application in homes. For example, if you have a chandelier with numerous candelabra bulbs in your living room or foyer, replacing all those bulbs with LED lights would cost a pretty penny. So it’s probably not going to happen.

In private homes, LED lights probably function best in areas with restricted access, like rooftop lighting, recessed indoor lighting, under-the-cabinet lighting, and wall sconces.

Two other popular lighting trends include surrounding chandeliers with translucent fabric shades, and crystal fixtures. Dangling crystal fixtures and avant-garde crystal chandeliers in atypical shapes provide visual interest and have the added benefit of injecting drama into a room. Dramatic lighting provides a way to totally change the feel of any room.

Onyx runs right behind crystal in popularity, because it exudes warmth and is more economical that alabaster, which has fallen out of grace for the time being. Because of its understated charm and friendly glow, onyx is replacing glass in many fixtures available on the market, be they modern, transitional or traditional fixtures.

Pendant lights, which have been around for a long time, are still fashionable and well-liked, mostly because they present a subtle, painless way to alter the color and thus the mood of a room. Like paintings or other works of art, pendant lights are art too, functional art.

Light fixtures contribute color and fashion to space. Their deployment or lack thereof can transform your living space from drab to fab in the flick of a switch.