Off-Kilter Chandeliers Show Spot-On Style
Chandeliers have been breaking placement rules with happy results, loosening a room's symmetry and creating appealing visual tension
Lisa Frederick
July 6, 2012
Houzz Contributor. After journalism school, I fell into decorating media and immediately discovered a new passion. An Atlanta native, I spent several years as an editor for Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine before making the leap to national publications and websites such as Houzz, Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Accents. I live in Birmingham, Alabama, with my husband and son, who’ve gotten used to coming home and finding the furniture rearranged. When I'm not dragging case goods across the floor, I enjoy good food and wine, college football, music of all kinds, and traveling.
Houzz Contributor. After journalism school, I fell into decorating media and immediately... More
Ever since we bought our house six years ago, our dining room chandelier has perplexed me. The space is pretty narrow, and to give guests room to walk between the dining table and the china hutch, we had to position the table off center. And that means that the light fixture, instead of dangling neatly over the middle, sits about 8 inches too far to the right. I always imagine people secretly wondering if I hung it in the middle of a three-day bender or forgot to put my contacts in that day.
Well, as it turns out, I'm a trendsetter. Offset chandeliers are shaking up interiors with their quirky placement and rule-breaking attitude. Take a look at these examples to see why falling out of balance can be a very good thing.
Well, as it turns out, I'm a trendsetter. Offset chandeliers are shaking up interiors with their quirky placement and rule-breaking attitude. Take a look at these examples to see why falling out of balance can be a very good thing.
Forget the usual pair of matching lamps. A chandelier illuminates one side of this bedroom, adding life and energy to a rather plain space. It's a little bright for a reading light — I'd probably put it on a dimmer to calm down the scene at bedtime.
These are people after my own heart. They could have hung the chandelier right above the table, but instead they kept it close against the wall for an element of surprise. I can only wish my fixture were as cool as theirs is.
Most people would have mounted this chandelier in the center of the bed canopy. But that would have put it too close to the pendants that hang over the night tables — and besides, doesn't it look fresher at the very end of the bed?
I think these are technically pendants, but the effect is the same. They drop from the ceiling and cluster at one side of the mirror like a wavy lock of hair falling over an eye.
Instead of hanging this chandelier in the center of the kitchen island, these homeowners went for a less expected placement toward the end. That way it shines directly over the island's seating area.
In a similar vein, this off-center chandelier helps to energize what could have been a static kitchen.
Orienting the chandelier toward the corner of this room helps to reinforce the sense of a cozy nook.
These homeowners used the same trick. The fixture draws you right in and compels you to settle in for a cup of something warm and an intimate chat.
More:
Expert Talk: 10 Reasons to Hang a Chandelier in the Kitchen
Sensational Chandeliers Cast Rooms In Dramatic Light
Divine Lighting: The White Chandelier
More:
Expert Talk: 10 Reasons to Hang a Chandelier in the Kitchen
Sensational Chandeliers Cast Rooms In Dramatic Light
Divine Lighting: The White Chandelier
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marcie
http://custm.co/hz/19
Thank you! We are biulding an addition with top story being a dining room. However, with table being paced off center, becuase of the china cabinet on the side of it, requiers the chandelier to be off center too, to be above the middle of the table, I had aproblem with deciding on how to tie together off center lighting and table with the centrally symmetrical windows. Thanks to your article, I see that I can take attention from the lack of symmetry with introducing the light fixture interesting enough to draw attention away from symmetry.