 Best & Brightest
Putting things in their very best light
BY PRISCILLA KOHUTEK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT FRENCH
Sometimes after doing all the right things to
decorate — picking the perfect wall color,
choosing dramatic draperies, finding fabulous
furnishings, adding accessories, mirrors
and paintings — you still find you’re not satisfied
with the overall look of a room. You may
wonder then, “Why is the wow factor still missing?”
If that’s the case, don’t despair.
The solution
to your decorating dilemma can be as easy
as flipping a switch.
Table lamps, floor lamps, chandeliers and
sconces may be the final touch a room needs to
put your home in its very best light. With the flip
of a switch, your ho-hum home can be brilliant.
So, let there be light!
Lighting works in many ways and has a huge
impact on one’s physical and emotional wellbeing. For visual tasks, strong direct functional
lighting is a must. Inadequate lighting can result
in headaches and eyestrain as well as stress
and frustration.
For ambiance and drama, softer lighting is
more calming and relaxing, creating a mood that
lowers blood pressure and relieves stress.
Though this seems obvious, most people didn’t
consider anything beyond adding a dimmer
switch to a dining room chandelier, or three-way
light bulbs for bedroom and living room lamps,
or maybe an up light hidden in a potted plant.
These days there are many decorative lighting
options available to help create any kind of setting
that suits your mood.
Crystal chandeliers glitter and gleam to provide
absolute glamour in all kinds of interior
spaces. from grand foyers to tiny powder rooms.
However, if crystal seems too formal or doesn’t
suit your home’s decor, consider light fixtures
made with Italian glass, wrought iron, seashells
or even antlers. When choosing or creating a
custom-crafted chandelier, there’s no end to
the possibilities.
 Chandeliers are intended to be decorative focal points,
but often they’re not sole source of light in most rooms. For
example, a formal living room might showcase a crystal chandelier
but also have several table lamps throughout the
space.
Perhaps there might be a pair of lamps on your fireplace
mantle, or you may want sconces or a pretty pair of
crystal wall lights with flickering bulbs that imitate old-fashioned
gaslight. Even if all these lights were in one room,
one needn’t turn them all on at once. Instead, in order to
create the desired ambience that lighting can bring, consider
the feel you want in the room.
Big, crowded parties call for
more light than small, after-dinner coffee gatherings. The mix
of lighting sources allows for flexibility, which is what you
want in your home, whether you’re there alone or having
friends visit. Sometimes creating a combination lighting
scheme that will work for you when called upon to create
several isn’t so easy to accomplish.
When you need help
deciding what to put into a room and how to get the job
done, consult a lighting professional. There are also local
companies that can set up an automated system that will
control all the lighting, entertainment and even security settings
for your home. Wouldn’t it be nice to come home to
soft music and low lighting in the living room where your
favorite easy chair awaits you?
Besides combination lighting, options for both decorative
and functional wall lamps and sconces are wonderful additions
to home décor, too. Designs for today’s sconces take
lighting from traditional to cutting-edge. Some even have a
contemporary industrial style that speaks to today’s trends.
Sconces can provide the special touch that creates a signature
look in dark hallways, near wall groupings or over fireplace
mantles.
Three-way, swing-arm wall lamps are fabulous over beds, as they work well as soft, romantic
mood lighting or as efficient reading
lamps.
 The real beauty of wall-hung
lighting sources is that it doesn’t take
up table space, leaving room for other
things like clocks, magazines, or even
a bowl of flowers.
“Live in rooms full of light,” writes
Aulus Cornelius Celsus. This good
advice from the ancient Roman writer
is even better today, for current
options for illuminating rooms and
creating dramatic statements in light
are better and brighter than they’ve
ever been.
Priscilla Kohutek is an internationally published
home decorating columnist and author of The
Guide to Home Decorating Indian Style.
Visit her Web site: www.askpriscilla.com.
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