Home Edit: Lighting
Sconces, pendants and other light styles that I have my eye on for our Rouen renovation
Our renovation screeched to a halt at the end of February and is only just starting to pick up speed again. I hear this is normal and nothing to worry about, but when the clock is ticking - our monthly loan repayments have just kicked in and we need to start at least breaking even as soon as possible, it’s a little unnerving. I won’t go into all the details here as to why, (I’ll leave them for another newsletter), but thankfully it is now moving again, albeit at a snail’s pace. And while it is, having already chosen the rugs, curtains, paint colours, the fixtures and most of the furniture, I’m currently making the final decisions on the lighting. So I thought it would be interesting to share my decision process and my wishlist with you here, in case you too are in the market for nice light, need a bit of inspiration and don’t know quite where to look. I am here to help.
Lighting can be a little daunting for the uninitiated, but it is probably my favorite thing to source for an interior, hence I take a little longer doing it. I love nothing more than scouring the web for a pretty light fixture. I have hundreds of styles saved, spreading across various different websites, just waiting for the perfect project where I can finally put them to good use. Over the past few years I've built up a huge repertoire of different lighting styles - some by well-known designers and some by not so well known, chosen simply because I adore the way they look. My taste ranges from Italian art-deco, to mid 20th century, vintage Scandinavian and more modern, now classic designs. I love to mix and match - different eras, old with new and for the lights to tell a story. I also treat sconces, pendants and table lamps like art pieces, or jewelry for the home. Beautiful lights embellish, add character and personalize a space; they literally adorn a room, not just as a beautiful piece in itself, but also as a practical object, so I tend to always invest more in them. In fact I don’t always believe that lighting should be practical, it should certainly be beautiful, but doesn’t always have to have a specific use.
The British designer Rose Uniacke is a brilliant example of someone who cleverly uses lighting to create interior moments and moods. Her designs are elegant, serene and considered, and the lights are often used as statements to create focal points - take the bedroom below for example. The lights almost pop out of the photo.
It might then come as no surprise to know that I believe finding great light fixtures is just as important as choosing the right sofa and should have just as much thought put in. They can tie a room together or do quite the opposite, if done badly. I also think that lighting in a home should be soft and ambient. It’s needed of course to light up dark corners, but most importantly (in my book), its purpose should be to bathe your home in a warm glow; to create a cosy, homely atmosphere, almost as if the light becomes a furniture piece in itself once switched on that you want to curl up in.
This is unless you are specifically looking for a task light, which should be bright and white, and either hidden under a shade on a desk, on a floor lamp that you can ideally angle towards the book you’re reading or face out towards you when you look into a mirror in the bathroom. Never from above. I particularly dislike downlighting, like ceiling spotlights (I’m sure I’m not alone here?). I find them aggressive and have an almost physical reaction to them. They cast horrible shadows on you (not what one wants from lighting - yes it should make you look good too), your furniture, and offer unpleasant, clinical lighting that is the opposite of welcoming. No one wants to feel like they’re sitting in a dental surgery when at home. Or at least I don't.
When our builder suggested spotlights for our bathroom in Rouen, I immediately barked NON! at him, then had to explain my response after seeing the look of shock on his face. Of course they have their uses - they can work well under the bottom of kitchen cupboards to light up a work surface for example, but that's the only place I would like to see them. I also don't like exposed bulbs, and even hesitate at glass lights. But if the piece is pretty enough, like murano glass and not completely transparent, I can compromise for beauty. I probably just won't switch them on all that much, and use them instead to adorn a wall.
So while I finalize the lighting in our Rouen apartment, I thought I would share with you an edit of the pieces that I have my beady eye on - styles that I think will bring character into any space. So here are a few on my wishlist!
Before I reveal my favourite lighting styles, a little reminder about edits for free subscribers - you will now be able to see the first three items, but paid subscribers will be able to see the full edit. These edits take me a long time to pull together, which is why they’re reserved for my most loyal subscribers. If you enjoy my content and haven’t yet upgraded to paid, I hope you’ll consider it! A subscription works out at just €5 a month (instead of 6€) if you sign up to the yearly plan (that’s only 1.16€ a week), where you will also get FULL ACCESS to my archive of wardrobe, homeware and travel edits, including my Little Black Book of Paris addresses.
SCONCES
Despite my hesitation towards glass lighting, I adore murano glass styles. But it’s rarely see-through, so it passes the non-transparency test. Plus I use sconces mainly to adorn walls so I can afford to let beauty override practicality in this case.
Vintage Murano glass sconces, 608€
I also really love the 1960s style ice glass sconces created by the Austrian designer, Kalmar. They too are not transparent, but rather frosted, hence the ‘ice’ description and these below really do look like jewelry pieces.
Pair of 'Palazzo' 24k Gilt Murano Glass Sconces, €1,190
The style I’m currently considering for our kitchen (the jury is still out), which I used in a client’s guest bedroom, are these vintage Stilnovo wall lights, which are incredibly reasonable too and would fit in any setting as they’re so neutral.
Some of my favorite lighting styles are by the mid-20th century French Jean Royère. I particularly love the Hirondele or Liane N°14 Wall Light, which have been re-released by Maison Royère.
On a very different end of the spectrum