Oh, I couldn't agree more with that list!!
I did have a pause at "Sticks in a Vase" as I have many containers with curly willow but thankfully they look more like the ideal picture and not the before.

I have to agree also! I have two of those lamps and can't stand them. Who wants light on the ceiling? lol

Flat screen TV in the open? I have no clue what to do with the huge thing. Although I noticed in her blog she showed a couple designed rooms with the same dislike. If I had the right size furniture to put it in, the room would be full. Which is why I have a flat screen and why they work so much better than the refrigerator size TV from the past.

Sticks in a Vase. Right now is a great time to cut some blooming buds from fruit trees. I use my curly willow too. She forgot about the fake grass growing in rectangular containers.

Bet we could add our own list. Cautious though with what one loves and works for each personally.

I think as with anything, there is a way to do it. She also talks about overusing the "words" (dream, wish, simplify, etc.) She says no more than one, but my baby girl's room has 3 colorful words (dream, laugh, dance) hung on the wall as you would a collage of pictures. Let me tell you, her room is Stunning! Not just because of those words, but everything flows so nicely. She is my 3rd (last planned :) kiddo, and the 1st that I have had such a wonderful nursery for. I smile at every wall in her room. Oh, and she also has "Sweet" on a ledge...it is pink with sparkles. Totally not the same as all the solid color words plastered on every opening in a living room!
I do love the 2nd and much better done sticks in a vase that she showed. I have cut some branches from our crabapple trees when they are in bloom to display on my kitchen table as I can't get enough of that particular scent, but I have to say I haven't been able to get them to come out "gorgeous" I guess if they lasted for more than a week, I would perfect them!
Not on her list is the "chicken kitchen" We finally moved to the country 3 1/2 years ago and have chickens...also a chickenfried kitchen! I did however do it in a more sophisticated way, and while everyone may not love my kitchen, it is what I always wanted...love it!

I have a torchiere lamp and I hate it, but it's still in my room (have been looking for a good replacement). The ONE time I had one and loved it was in a former basement. It had a built in photo sensor that would turn the light off/on. There was something nice about being able to turn an overhead light on and have the lamp automatically shut off, and vice-versa.

In defense of torchieres....they are a good functional way to bounce a lot of light off the ceiling into a room. I often advise clients to purchase one when their room needs a lot more light but they're not ready to invest in "real" lighting yet. If you have one with a continuous dimmer, you have a lot of control over the quality of your light. These beasts are lit with halogen bulbs, so they throw one of the cleanest and best color-rendering lights available. In a world where we are grappling with CFLs and their lousy CRI, that's no small matter in terms of color.

Lighting, both stop-gap and permanent, needs to be layered -- think high, medium and low. That means something up high (like a torchiere...sorry, Maria!) or maybe recessed cans, which I like even less than the torchiere or some kind of track or rail system. Medium means pendants, chandeliers, wall sconces, art lamps, table lamps, etc. Low means a little uplight tucked at the foot of a plant in the corner. Or maybe parked behind the Sticks in a Vase to show off the dust. ;-)

I think the quibble here is that people think they can use one kind of lighting, one layer, and call it done. Let's face it, a room with only recessed lighting leaves something to be desired. A room with only table lamps could be improved upon. And yes, a room with only a torchiere is a problem.

Good post, amysrq. I love the soft white light that a torchiere can add.

graywings, your advice is generally pretty good. I always enjoy your comments :)

OK, who the heck is Marie Killiam and why does her opinion matter?
;-)

I don't have a torchiere lamp but I always remember you recommending them, Graywings.

So you guys are saying they don't give off enough light around them, just the ceiling? I just recommended them to someone who doesn't have a ceiling light in their living room but their ceilings are a little under 8'. They didn't buy anything yet. ...

I have a torchiere - out in the garage where it awaits donation to Goodwill. When I purchased it, I thought it was so cool. Well, it was so cool it gave no lighting at all except on the ceiling.

I don't have any torchiere lamps either but only because I don't like the way they look. But isn't it a good thing to have several different kinds and levels of light? Light from above (chandeliers, recessed lights), light down where people are (lamps, sconces), even light bouncing off the ceiling -- not as the main light, but as something to give balance.

I love her list. Really, who IS she and where is she? I couldn't find her website.

She's a Vancouver-based designer. I agree with most of this, but it's always in the execution. I do hate inspirational words, and yet I have a vintage "Need Aid" MG car flag hanging above my desk.

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Maria Killam

Don't forget that circia early 90s the halogen bulbs in torchieres reach official hazard status, and everyone was buying the wire mesh caps to try and contain a potentially exploding bulb.

Borrowing this pic (NOT MY PIC), you can actually see the wire cap.

(I have a mica torchiere, and a Tiffany style torchiere, and I'm ok with them. My comments are pretty exclusive to the 80s style eyesores most homes have, even if they won't admit it).

From her website, I completely agree with this statement. I am tired too of the Buy What You Love, when I want real help.

"Since I have recently hired a fabulous stylist to help me pull my wardrobe together, I heard that answer and started thinking how that wouldn�t help me one bit to have someone tell me to �buy what I love and what looks good on me�. There are many, many items that fall into that category which is why I wanted a professional to help me take my �look� to the next level as well as help me buy the clothes that work for me, my lifestyle and my business.

Since then, I notice when interior designers in interviews have similar philosophies like "Buy what you love and it'll all work out" I get a little annoyed. And don�t get me wrong, I know there are a great many inspirational tips and ideas we all read in blogs and magazines and our homes get happier and prettier. Fundamentally though, here's my question. When you see an interview with yet another designer saying 'Buy what you love. . . your home should reflect who you are. . . ' does this help you? Inspire you to run out and do just that or. . . what?'

Bumble - I agree with everything you just said!

I like a lot of different things, styles, etc. Using them all together does NOT work. I get the idea about you need to love the stuff but the general comment of "buy what you love" doesn't always work.

Thanks amysrq! I have 2 torchieres in my family room. The room is very large (21 x 21) and very high ceilings (24 ft). The torchieres are only used when I need to light the entire room. Usually, I just have table lamps on. But when I need to light the entire room, I need to light the entire room! Would love to have a chandelier (instead of the ceiling fan), but there is the problem of how to change bulbs. I am not going to be climbing on a 15 ft (or however high it would be) ladder to change bulbs. So, it is the only reasonably priced solution I have. They are not the 80s style. They do look better than that.

She wasn't denigrating all torchieres, just the el cheapo halogen ones.

Bumble, I agree with Shee on your question. I love lots of different styles, and in my head I'm always thinking, I want my house to look like that- no, I want it to look like that and on and on.

If I bought everything I loved, my house would look kind of crazy!

I have two torchieres in my basement family room that only has one below ground window. They work awesome for just shedding a little bit of light and not blasting your eyeballs out. Regardless of what she says, I love mine.

Many years ago I had a torchiere lamp but got rid of it when I found out my DS was burning pieces of paper on the exposed bulb (it was in his room and he was climbing furniture to get to it). This was a 90's style lamp that got very hot.

amysrq - I like your post re layered lighting because I'm wondering if I'm going overboard w/lighting in my DD's room remodel. She already had a ceiling fan light (which I'd like to replace with a mini-chandelier). I wanted a lamp near her bed so I got a PB desk lamp for her nightstand. Then I saw a great idea for a teapot lamp (similar to Anthropologie's $198 lamp!) and decided to make one. Since she already has a lamp next to her bed I'll have to put this on her dresser across the room.

Of course, her reading chair is on the other side of her bed and there's no reading light there, so I had to get the PB Kids floor lamp that I found on CL to put between the bed and her reading chair.

Her room will end up going from having only 1 ceiling lamp to 4 different types of lighting. I do love the soft, cozy lighting in the room though - so different than just having the overhead light.

Thanks for the compliment, awm03!

I look at Maria's site sometimes, but to me, there is less and less color advice and more and more of "hire me", "attend one of my classes", "how to write blogs", etc. I think she is getting way to into making money (which I can understand), and less and less into color. And frankly, I haven't really been that impressed with any of the rooms she's done.

I do think she probably meant only the cheapo halogen torchieres. I have an antique torchiere that takes an incandescent bulb, and has a beautiful white glass form at the top, with an intricate brass base. I use it in the corner of a room with a vaulted ceiling whenever I really need to SEE. And I can think of some great-looking art deco torchieres that surely would make the cut.

I had two of them in my craft room/office at the old house, in opposite corners that both turned on with the light switch. Loved them. 150 watt bulbs, made the room very bright. I am currently using one of them in our den because there really is no good option for overhead lighting... the ceiling has criss-cross hickory beams and putting any kind of pot lights or track lights up there would look ridiculous. They are very nice looking, antiqued brass. I had a cheap halogen one years ago and the moths always committed suicide in it. Gross. At one point I thought wiring was on fire inside the walls, but then realized it was smoke from the moths.

We had one in our lower level family room. There is no overhead/ceiling lighting. Which I take huge issue with, but anyway... moving furniture around one day it got bumped, fell over & broke. I should have looked into getting it repaired, loved the greco-roman sort of base w/frosted glass. Haven't looked very hard but haven't seen one like it since. :/ It worked exactly as Amy describes. Now it's just table lamps and it's just not the same.

She never specified, she just showed a picture of the lamp.

I don't have words in my home, but I do have something similar. Supposedly temporary, but until the drywall is up and finished, it might be 5 more years that these things are there.

When I read or hear something that resonates with me, just take my black black felt marker and write it on the wall. I've got stuff all over the place. Some make me smile, some cause me to still tear up. Some just make me take a breath.

It all started with a coaster tile my yoga teacher & mentor gave me after the crap with my husband came to light. This is written in every room, on a dominant wall: "On the other side of fear, you will always find freedom." Fear can be immobilizing & it's interesting to feel your wheels start to creakily start moving again.

Another favorite is Ghandi's "Scars remind is of where we've been. They do not dictate where we are going."

Nietsche's two I love are "That which does not destroy us makes us stronger." That's extremely different than the oft-misquoted, "That which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger." And his, "It takes a lot of chaos for a star to be born."

I could continue, but you get the point. Not carved words, but words nonetheless. :)
No sticks or fake grass. She'd probably take exception to cardboard all over the floor for carpet runners, or plastic storage bins instead of closets or cabinets. Well, there's no accounting for taste, is there!? [LOL] Imagine how she's handle electrical wires sticking out of the walls and ceiling where switches, outlets & pot lights should be. Well, you gotta hang your clothes somewhere, right?

Christine
Formerly C F Muehling

This thread has brought up a forgotten interest in torchieres. Overstock has some pretty Tiffany ones I'm considering.

They come in handy when you have 10-15ft ceilings. Can be an integral part of that layering of light effort Amy referred to.

I have a "DREAM" sign in my bedroom. I saw the same sign through the window on the other side of my quadplex, on a bookshelf with some other picture frames and had to have one just like it. I found it at... Target.

That's also where I bought my $10 torchiere lamp. This one accepts any regular Edison-base light bulb - incandescent, some halogens, CFLs, or LEDs. This one shines some light horizontally through the plastic inverted cone as well as shining upward, so it lights up the room nicely. It's important to have stark flat white ceilings if you want clean light from torchieres.

I'm waiting patiently for the 10 watt LED bulbs that shine in all directions, give off warm 94 CRI light, last forever, don't hum, flicker, or turn on really dim until they warm up for half a minute.

I love recessed lighting BTW. So much you can do with it, and it provides soft, even non-glaring light not possible with torhieres and table lamps that lead to shadows and call attention to the lamps rather than the people illuminated by them. This is a great light to keep on all the time in a large home when the house is otherwise dark.

Confession time...

I have this and I like it. Right now, it migrates between a corner in my dining room (where I still have not gotten around to installing my Tech Lighting rail array with yummy pendants) and the living room (where we have frequent chamber music sessions and I cannot stand the light of the overhead fluorescent circline lamp).

Here is a link that might be useful: My bad

I do hate these supposedly definitive "lists" of what you should always or never do - they feel like ultimatums - makes me want to rebel!

graywings that's what I call you - bad-advice-graywings ;-) Seriously, you cut to the chase and often focus on some small but significant detail where I just want to smack my head and say, duh! Why didn't I see that?

amysrq I have a very similar lamp in my son's room - it's great for general room light that bounces off the ceiling and task light at his desk. My bad, too. Oh, well.

Thank you for the link, ideefixe. I think her rooms are very pretty, and though not my favorite style I could easily be happy living in most of them.

A pair of underwear on one of these lamps is what burnt down the house across the street.

My problem with wall words is that I feel like they are reminding you to do things that are not your natural state.

"Friends Welcome Here" hung in the kitchen of one of the most hostile people I knew.

"Live Well, Laugh Often, and Love Freely" foreclosed on a house, yells at everyone, divorced her husband and has alienated 2 of her 3 kids.

So, I don't trust those wallwords

Maybe they should have had some wallwords that said Use The Dryer.

Palimpsest, You are too funny.

I am wondering what words would be on your wall, if you had them.

ROTFL!

I'm never sure how to react to words. Single words, prominently displayed, seem a lot like commands. E.g. "STOP" and "YIELD." We've learned to obey single words in front of us.

Now I'm being commanded to FAITH, LOVE, HOPE. It makes me a little uncomfortable, I think.

I bought one of those vinyl wall quote things the other day at DH's insistence. It reminded him of his recently departed grandmother. It's a full on quote, but still...

I need wall words that say "Put it in the dishwasher".

"No!"

Maybe it will save me a little time.

palimpset, you are hilarious, so true.

Maybe I could gain fame and fortune by producing the above wall words that bumble needs,
and add some really sassy ones too.

For DH, it would be simple words like "Shirts" "Pants" his closet is pristine
and has sections for everything but once in a while, a jacket gets hung with the pants, not a biggie but ............why? he's had organized closets for over 10 years.

Graywings, back on topic, your advice is still good regarding torcheres,
I used to have gorgeous ones on each side of my buffet, the bowl was large and cast a good sized glow on the ceiling; some of the cheaper ones have such a small diameter. I have a torchere in my master bedroom now, it has an alabaster bowl so the glow shows through as well as lighting the ceiling.

My grandmother had a sign in her kitchen (which originated in WWII and was resurrected in the Goldwater campaign, I guess):

"Illegitimis non carborundum est" which is a fake Latin term that means "Don't let the B@5t@rDs wear you down."

That would probably be close, but if I needed a reminder phrase it might be something like "Control your paranoia"

As for torchiere uplighting. I work in a clinic that is lit primarily (80 odd percent, I would say) by indirect uplighting that bounces off the ceiling from unseen sources, Its actually a very pleasant and even illumination.

Love those!

And I just bought some sticks and stuck them in a vase

But I like it and I'm keeping it!

Graywings - I just wanted to say when I mentioned I remember you saying about the lamps, I didn't mean that snarky. I think you give good advice!

I take compliments at face value, so no offense taken.

And I really wasn't trolling for compliments with the title of the thread.

I have two ugly torchieres in my house and one not quite so ugly. Ex-husband has the pretty one:

Torchieres have their place and work great and in other instances, don't work.
I hate blanket rules because they leave no leeway for exceptions and discretion.
I will do in my house what works for myself and my family. if we like it, then rules do not matter.
I actually plan on getting some sort of torchiere or other stand type lighting for our den. Lighting the ceiling may be preferable than lighting down onto our faces.

Thank you dianalo for saying exactly what I feel. I couldn't have said it better. I collect word art, call me tacky but I love it!

Graywings, I know you're not fishing for compliments, but it seems like the perfect opportunity to tell you. Some of the best advise you've given that I have benefited from was about the snipping tool. At the time, I was having some real struggles with something I need to do for my job and there have been so many occasions, that that little tool has been my saving grace. Thanks so much!

lee676: "How about a "night light" that actually lights up the whole room well enough for finding those 3A.M. munchies or bathroom runs?)" I have a koa wood night light that we bought in Hawaii on our honeymoon that seriously lights up the whole room. I don't really like that. We bought it for a future baby's room, would be fine for that.

We have a torchere that belonged to my husband's grandmother. It has an ornate dark ivory/cream-colored glass shade, the metal is brass(ish), and the base, on ornate metal feet, is intended to look like ivory. It's a unique piece that, while possibly not the most practical, gives off a bright but very warm light, and I can't imagine getting rid of it because of some person's supposed rule.

Still, there are other, more useful table lamps in the room as well. That torchere needs all the help it can get.

As for the other rules, yeah, I just do not get the point of words on a wall. All our words, and there are a LOT of them, are in our ~1,000+ volume library. And sticks in a vase...? With cats in the house? An open invitation for trouble!

OTOH we finally caved and bought a large TV. And a large "single guy"-style stand to put it on. Other items in the room include an old loveseat in 70-year-old, genuine cotton velvet, a traditional chair in greeny-bronzy fabric with bronzy-gold design on it, a sideboard in a bookmatched mahogany, art in gold frames, and an Oriental carpet. So much for rules--and so much for our concern about things always matching!