Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that…*

Lighting can have a huge impact on the ambience of a space, both positive and negative – effective lighting can open up a space, make it a welcoming space (or not…), emphasise key features (both architectural and furniture/artwork) and, ultimately, bring an entire design to life. That said, many designs do not capitalise fully on the role that natural and artificial lighting can play as part of the overall design. Of course, there are many, many different ways that you can light up a space – in this blog I am going to focus on one of my favourites… One way to create a dramatic statement within your home is by using pendant lighting. These days there a huge number of pendant lights available, from what can be simply described as ‘the standard’ to the weird and wonderful – it’s those that fall into the latter category that can be used to make a design statement. And, just to be clear, I am not talking about attaching a pendant to the light fitting over the bed (i.e. in the centre of the room) – the fitting that builders typically wire a building to be able to support – this is about thinking cleverly and more creatively about how you can use pendant lighting within a space as part of an overall design. It’s worth bearing in mind that just because you have preexisting light fittings within a space, you don’t necessarily have to be constrained by them…

(Image from Marie Claire Maison)

(Image from vartnyahem.se)

These images illustrate that you can break the deeply ingrained and accepted rules about lighting and achieve a fantastic and impactful outcome - whether it’s asymmetric ceiling pendants in the bedroom, feature lighting in the kitchen or multiple ceiling lights in the living room…

*Martin Luther King (used completely out of context in this blog… sorry.)