Lighting can turn a dark space into one that is bright, functional, and inviting, which makes it an important component in interior design both inside and outside the home. Light fixtures are often statement pieces that add beauty and cohesion to a home, as the lighting piece itself attracts attention. The design can be a reflection of personal taste executed on a large scale.

Statement lighting may take form of a hanging fixture that is the focal point in a dining room, kitchen, entryway, or porch. The dining room chandelier installed over a table comes to mind as the most obvious example of a statement piece in many homes, but the possibilities are endless. In a home with a large family room, a beautiful fixture might tie the room together, while a hanging yoke lantern on a porch or used in multi-season room welcomes guest in a big way. Glamourous spa baths may feature dramatic crystal chandeliers to illuminate a luxurious tub.

What’s Hot In Statement Lighting

The trend in statement lighting is to use warm metals such as copper, brass, gold, and hand-applied faux finishes. Metal tones tend to be burnished to offer an aged look, so as to give the impression that they have always been in place there. Metals are often combined with wood or painted surfaces. According to designer Lindsey Johnson, black and burnished gold finishes offer “a classic look with a contemporary feel.”

Minimalist architectural shapes are popular too, often with filament bulbs gracing circles, squares, curved or jagged bars, or other shapes. Colored glass globes are trending, along with fixtures made of ceramic, concrete, and hand-blown glass. LED bulbs are popular energy saving additions to many fixtures; while the bulbs are more costly, they do not have be changed as frequently, an asset for hard-to-reach fixtures.

Choosing The Best Statement Lighting

How do you select the best statement lighting for your space? You and the designers you work with have considerable latitude in selecting the best piece for various locations in your home. Here are a seven tips about choosing statement from us at Lantern & Scroll:

1. Using multiple metals in a room is fine, but repeating metals shows that you have introduced another tone intentionally. If you have satin nickel fixtures but want to add a new piece in copper, find a fixture that blends with the style of your home and then add copper-framed mirror or accent piece in the room.
2. If you love the look of copper, lanterns are the perfect way to add style. We offer lanterns in traditional and contemporary styles in a range of sizes to provide eye-catching light to a foyer, a hall, or a room.
3. Size matters. You can choose a fixture in whatever size you want so long as it does not overwhelm the room. When choosing chandeliers or pendant lights, the rule of thumb that the fixture should be ½ to 2/3s the diameter of the table. For other spaces, if you measure the length and width and add the two figures together, you should have the approximate size for a fixture. Going a bit too big is better than installing an undersized fixture. To obtain the perfectly scaled fixture for your home, work with a company that will customize its offerings. For example, if the 36″ wide JS-XL1 from Lantern & Scroll that features double 4-light clusters is too small over your dining room table or island, they can craft one in the proper dimensions. Having designed custom collections for commercial and residential application throughout the country, they can custom-craft what you need.
4. Hanging fixtures about 30″ above a dining room table is standard, but the “visual weight and proportion of the table, as well as the light output” may make it desirable to alter the height from the table, according to designer Yvonne Colacion.
5. The more height you have to work with, the greater the amount of hanging detail you can use. Adding the metal circle of a yoke mount as with the N-29 series or the detail of wires that run from the four corners of the lantern to the ceiling in collections such as the JS-2 adds length and interest. A hanging yoke lantern makes an impressive statement outside too.
6. Where a hanging fixture might be a hazard to tall guests or where the goal is to cast light over a larger area , choose a drum design and or other flush mount fixtures such as the MT-2F or JS-2F.
7. In open concept homes that are popular now, pendants and other small hanging lights create zones and neatly divide spaces. Whether you need a more petite configuration from the Queen Street Collection or something larger from the Trenholm Collection, you can find the right proportion to make your space stand out.

Lighting not only illuminates a room but adds a wow element. With the proper statement lighting, you can a room to next level of beauty.