Sensational Chandeliers Cast Rooms in Dramatic Light
Let your lighting fixture be the star and claim the applause for yourself with a statement-making chandelier
Samantha Schoech
March 28, 2012
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design. I just completed my first remodel, turning my crumbling 1941 kitchen into a beauty of grays, whites and natural wood. If I could, I'd sleep on the countertop. That's how much I love it.
You can also read my parenting blog on Baby Center http://blogs.babycenter.com/author/sschoech/
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design.... More
It has been said many times, but lighting really does make a room. But it's not just that glowing, bright stuff that comes out of them (nice for reading and seeing your food); it's the fixtures themselves.
Statement light fixtures can shake up entire rooms. They are focal points, as important as art or furniture or paint colors (sometimes more important), and they can dictate the entire personality of a space.
Often, since they are the last thing to go in, they are an afterthought. But in these 19 rooms, they are front and center. I can't speculate about each designer's process, but I would bet that in some cases the lighting came first, and the rest of the room followed. The results are beautiful rooms with touches of the unexpected.
Statement light fixtures can shake up entire rooms. They are focal points, as important as art or furniture or paint colors (sometimes more important), and they can dictate the entire personality of a space.
Often, since they are the last thing to go in, they are an afterthought. But in these 19 rooms, they are front and center. I can't speculate about each designer's process, but I would bet that in some cases the lighting came first, and the rest of the room followed. The results are beautiful rooms with touches of the unexpected.
There are not enough adjectives in the English language to express how much I love this turquoise chandelier in this neutral room. Spectaculo! Stupendo! Extraordinaire! Anyone know how to say "to die for" in Swahili?
This giant white sphere, otherwise known as the Ikea Maskros light, adds drama and a little warmth to a Scandavian-spare dining room.
Three chandeliers make sense over a long table. They also add glamour and femininity to an otherwise spare and angular room.
A signature piece, like this Nelson Pendant Lamp, automatically becomes a focal point in any room.
While the pragmatists see a housecleaning nightmare (yes, it's going to take some effort), the dreamers dine in an airscape of bubbles. This fixture is a favorite on Houzz, and it's no wonder why.
Chandeliers don't have to be glittery, sparkly or colorful to draw the eye. These Jestons-esque beauties harmonize the brown tones in this dining room and hang like sculptures over the table.
This large, modern and colorful chandler just had to be the jumping-off point for this entire space. How else could you make this crazy mix of colors, hues and styles work?
Two large rectangular chandeliers replace the predictable three drop-pendant lights that would normally hang over a kitchen island like this one. Nice change, right?
Traditional milk-white crystal chandeliers are both elegant and whimsical in this colorful, eclectic kitchen.
Ditto on this black beauty.
Staggered bubble lights hung at different lengths help break up all the hard angles here and add a bit of fun to this buttoned-up space.
This cluster chandelier in a contrasting color is the art in this room.
No art on the walls, just one giant, hot pink, fringed chandelier. How could anything else possibly complete?
Deep breath. This wire chandelier by Abigail Ahern might just be the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on. It's so much more than a light fixture; it's a sculpture. And that charcoal wall is its perfect companion.
This scene stealer is the giant drama queen in the middle of the room. She demands all the attention. And she gets it.
If you have the ceilings and the bank account for a Chihuly, why wouldn't you have one hanging in the middle of your living room?
I love chandeliers in bathrooms. They soften everything and add a touch of romance. This one, made of poems, does those two things wonderfully.
A chandelier over an outdoor table makes it a fancy-pants outdoor dining room.
This ordinary outdoor table and chair setup looks chic and intentional — all because of the chandelier. Unfortunately, Ikea's Glansa Lysa chandelier is no longer available.
More:
Chandeliers for the Bathroom
Divine Lighting: The White Chandelier
They're Electrifying: Chic and Colorful Lights
More:
Chandeliers for the Bathroom
Divine Lighting: The White Chandelier
They're Electrifying: Chic and Colorful Lights
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Old article, but great! Wish our lighting would have made the cut :)