The Designer Gardens

Table lamps often have been treated like the prime maiden aunts of the lighting world, but as these examples show, they’ve recently undergone something of a makeover and are turning up in surprising roles in surprising places. Most people think ceiling fixtures when planning illumination for their dining areas, but in intimate—read, tight—spaces a table lamp creates a café ambience, particularly when they’re painted in unexpected contemporary colors. A nightstand lamp is a must, of course, but there’s no reason not to mix and match styles and to introduce styles usually reserved for more formal spaces. Here are more examples on our list of 8 ways to decorate with table lamps:

The new table lamp seems to have the biggest impact when it’s used in unexpected places. Why not integrate one into your bathroom décor for a touch of elegant whimsy? In this case, it’s the element that seems to pull an imaginative and stylish bath together. Candles on a window sill are a traditional touch, but you can update convention and create a wonderfully reflective pool of light by placing a table lamp there. It signals welcome to those outside and a bright glow of companionship to those within.

Even when they’re asked to play one of their traditional roles, today’s made-over table lamps give you the opportunity to turn the oh-so-familiar into a contemporary statement. In this case, a sideboard with rococo and classical design elements has been updated with a white-washed, distressed look. Giving the tall, sculptural lamps similarly styled base the same treatment brings both light and unity to a dining room tableau. A very modern table lamp sitting atop a battered but very contemporary side table turns a sitting room design cliché into a fresh declaration of time and place—not to mention, personal taste.

Somehow, when the eye goes to a fireplace, the mind thinks: sconces. That’s certainly one way to go, but tall table lamps—particularly in a matching pair—are an unexpected and decidedly elegant alternative. This is one time when seeing double isn’t such a bad thing. Similarly, a pair of matching table lamps that might usually expect to find their place on a bedroom’s night stands, look particularly strong arranged side-by-side on a low dresser.  (In the setting above, two lamps serve as sculptural art.) With all that extra light, there’ll be no more fumbling for lost earrings or keys.

Photo credits:  Design Sponge, Better Shelter, Campagne Decoration, Stadshem, Deb Treloar.

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