Inertia hanging fixture, Corbett Lighting
Lighting, while essential for living, does not have to be utilitarian in appearance. Often described as “jewelry for the home,” lighting is a practical, yet fashionable, way to upgrade your home décor. With more options than ever to choose from, industry experts share the latest in lighting trends to help you decide which look is best for you.
From a design perspective, traditional forms are being tweaked to create innovative new looks. With a fresh take on old ideas, manufacturers today are offering the elegance of the best period styles, but with simple, lightweight designs and more options.
“Some people are wanting things almost minimalistic, basically a silhouette with a finish on it,” says Eleanor McKay, CEO of Niermann Weeks, a home furnishings and lighting company based in Millersville, Maryland. “On the other end, we’re selling a lot of extremely elaborate and expensive chandeliers.”
New from Niermann Weeks this year are the Verrocchio and Coquille chandeliers. The Verrocchio chandelier was influenced by an early 19th century Italian antique McKay and her husband, Joe Niermann, saw in a South Carolina home. The Niermann Weeks version, however, strips away the original design’s superfluous decorative touches and leaves the essential oval elements in an Italian gold leaf finish.
“Some people want a lot of crystal elements in their fixtures,” McKay explains. For those people, there is the Coquille chandelier, which she describes as a “symphony of curves.” The chandelier includes a subtle camel and gold leaf finish and cascades of crystal beading.
Another trend in the lighting industry is matching sets, according to McKay. “If you have a nice chandelier, you can put matching sconces in the next room,” she says. One such example is the Lillie sconce, which Niermann Weeks also sells as a chandelier. The sconce version has glass tubes, which are graduated and loosely arranged to diffuse light into the surrounding space.
“We make it to be like the final piece of jewelry in whatever room setting it’s in,” McKay says of her company’s lighting products. “Whether it’s the home, office, or country club, we make all of our lighting fixtures so you can look at them from any angle–top, bottom, upside down–and it’s finished.”
At J. Lambeth & Co., a trade-only showroom in DC’s Washington Design Center, the focus is on traditional, but lightweight lighting fixtures, such as the ones from Julie Neill Designs, which is based in New Orleans. “I definitely see this as a trend,” says Ann Lambeth, owner of J. Lambeth & Co. “I think a lot of the heavier, traditional things are gone, but people still want traditional. Julie Neill Designs are traditional on a very light scale. They are very light looking, very modern traditional.”
Claudia sconce, Julie Neill Designs
Julie Neill Designs specializes in customized orders, allowing the client to select the style, size, and finish of any project. “Part of our philosophy is keeping things new and fresh, traditional with a fresh, contemporary twist to it,” Lambeth says. “Julie’s line has a light, airy feel to it, but it’s still elegant. It’s not over-the-top contemporary. It would still fit into a traditional home.”
This year, Victoria de Lotbinière, executive vice president of Vaughan Designs in New York, expects to see more colors than neutrals in table and floor lamps. “People tend to always buy neutral colors, but we’re finding that color is definitely selling compared to the neutrals,” she says. “Color wise, plum colors and pinks are probably our newest trends.”
As for chandeliers, glass ones with a vintage, 20th-century look, such as the Lymington chandelier, are popular, according to de Lotbinière. “It has a very ‘40s, Italian look,” she says.
For a contemporary touch to a traditional fixture, Vaughan is introducing Touzac wall sconces, which are made from buffalo horn and gilt or silver gilt. “People love these because they’re almost like jewelry for the wall,” de Lotbinière says. “You take a traditional form and you’re making it into something very modern and fabulous. They’re beautiful.”
David Littman, president of Corbett Lighting, Troy Lighting, Hudson Valley Lighting, and Creative Systems Lighting, is noticing a trend toward more organic and sustainable material in lighting fixtures with “warmer, earthy tones,” such as the new brushed bronze finish, which Littman describes as contemporary.
The Inertia line, or “family,” from Corbett Lighting is a “modern twist on a 1950s idea,” according to Littman. The group includes a hanging fixture and a sconce. “There were fixtures back in the day that used to be called Sputniks,” he explains. “This is a very loose relative and they’re similar only in form. It incorporates stainless steel and crystal to make these early satellite looking figures that are great for both residential and hospitality spaces.”
Another new group from Corbett is Dolcetti, which means “sweet little things” in Italian. The collection includes sconces and a pendant. “It’s a combination of stainless steel and crystal,” says Littman. The fixtures also include a mixture of natural materials, such as Mother of Pearl and the aqua blue color is courtesy of an exotic shell found in the Philippines.
Troy Lighting also has new fixtures to offer. “This is probably the best release Troy has ever had,” Littman says. “There are very clean lines and it’s rustic contemporary. We have really exciting new families.” One such family is the Mandarin, which utilizes a copper finish with silver mica and “a really interesting combination of warmer and cooler tones,” according to Littman.
The Drum family of iron hanging light fixtures was made in a Los Angeles factory. “This is the first iron family of many we’re going to be producing in the USA,” Littman says. “It’s a beautifully made iron fixture that looks a bit like a birdcage, with much more clean lines.”
The right lighting can make all the difference inside the home. “It helps define a space,” Littman says. “If you have a home with more traditional décor and you don’t have a beautiful chandelier to help finish off the space, the space never looks complete.” Over lighting can be just as bad as under lighting. “There’s nothing worse than a dark space or a highly over lit space,” he says. “Properly lit places set a great mood and a great tone.”
L’Oreal Thompson is the Assistant Editor of Chesapeake Home + Living.
Contacts:
Corbett Lighting: corbettlighting.com or 626-336-4511
J. Lambeth & Co.: jlambeth.com or 202-646-1774
Julie Neill Designs: julieneill.com or 504-309-4462
Niermann Weeks: niermannweeks.com or 410-923-0123
Troy Lighting: troy-lighting.com or 626-336-4511
Vaughan Designs: vaughandesigns.com or 212-319-7070
