Lighting Ideas

I don’t know about you, but I just don’t see enough plaid lighting solutions. This plaid canteen table lamp should definitely be in every home. I have no idea how you’d match it to your existing decor (unless you have plaid couches or just a lot of people hanging around wearing kilts…), but maybe this is one of those, ah, “eclectic” pieces that don’t necessarily have to match.

The lamp is available from http://www.thewoollysheep.com where it’s $130 for 1 lamp and $110 if you buy 2 or more (oh, you have to have a matching set… just 1 would look odd).

Metal lamps? Doesn’t sound very attractive, does it? But as you can see from the picture, you can do some pretty interesting things with metal.

This handmade metal lamp from Texas Lightsmith has a brushed pewter finish (it’s available in other finishes, too, such as burnished copper and oil-rubbed bronze) and strategically placed holes to create lovely light patterns on the wall beside it. The little lines of punctures also add interest to the lamp. A couple of these could be a fun addition to a hallway or an industrial-style loft.

Today’s Herald had some bedroom lighting pictures and ideas in the Home & Garden insert. The lamps were from a local store called Rejuvenation (apparently they have shops in Portland and Seattle). I really liked this lamp.

It’s called the Baker City, which “illustrates the appeal of uncomplicated, but decorative lighting design, which was popular from 1890 to 1910.” I’m not sure my bedroom has anything to do with that time period, but I like the lamp.

They have lots of lighting ideas, so it’s worth a browse if you’re in the market.

I’m not quite sure how to describe this lamp shade, entitled the Midsummer Shade Light, so I’ll just give you the description that appears at the merchant’s site:

Advances in technology have enabled Tord Boontje to employ new materials and computerized production processes to create his award-winning, lacelike shades. Made of Tyvek, a light, durable material with qualities of both paper and fabric, the Midsummer Shade softly diffuses light in an enchanting fashion.

It looks pretty cool, if you ask me, but I’m not sure it would look as cool on one of my doofy Ikea lamps. If you have better looking lighting than me, you could check it out. It costs $75 from MoMAstore.

Looking for a Christmas gift for someone who loves candles and oil lamps? This gladiolus oil lamp is something I haven’t seen before. The flowers aren’t real, of course; they’re silk, but that just means they’ll last. The smokeless lamp costs $48 at Red Envelope and comes with 24 oz. of paraffin oil and two wicks.

They say that in flower language, the gladiolus represents love and remembrance, so maybe this should be a gift for a special somebody.

If you know someone who loves candles (*points to self*), then a gift basket could be a well-received Christmas present this year. This is sort of the super deluxe model (read: $100… lots of candles… real wooden basket), which I found over at Yankee Candle, but these kind of gift baskets come in a variety of price ranges. You could find something as low as $15 or $20 that would still come with a couple of decent-sized candles (which means hours worth of burn time) and maybe some small ones. It’s just something to keep in mind if you’re shopping for a candle-lover this Christmas season.

If you’re looking for fun lighting ideas for your kids’ rooms, you might have fun browsing the children’s lamps over at Land of Nod. It’s a whole online store devoted to children’s furniture, and I of course was drawn to the lighting section. They have a couple dozen different lamps to choose from, including some fun chandeliers (one features daisies). Both boys and girls themes are represented.

http://www.landofnod.com

Most backyard decks have posts, and the tops or “caps” of these posts make great places to install lighting. If you do a lot of outdoor entertaining extra lighting in the evening is particularly important, especially if you have people going up and down stairs to the yard/swimming pool/garden/hot tub etc. etc. etc. This deck post light from Kichler is one of the classier lamps I’ve seen (meaning it’s too good for our backyard…), but it could go well in an elegant setting. Expect to pay $100-$150 a piece for something like this, which doesn’t include installation. These aren’t solar lights, so you’ll have to run some wiring. Still, they’ll provide a lot better illumination than a solar lamp does.

I saw someone biking along the Burke Gilman trail after dusk last night with something like this. It was a neon light attached to the frame of his bicycle. I certainly could see him coming from a long ways off, so it seems like it’d be a good idea for biking at night. And of course neon is a little more fun than a plain old headlight kind of lamp, and it’s more visible than simply using reflectors. Hm, I may have to buy something like this for my bike.

I really need to buy stock in Whole Foods. I swear, I can’t go into their store without buying at least three things that aren’t on my shopping list. Last night it was a pumpkin-scented candle (among other things). I don’t usually go for the smelly candles, but this seemed so appropriate for October. It really smells good too. Even before I lit it, it had infused the room with a pleasant spiced pumpkin scent. Of course, since I bought it at Whole Foods, it was about $8. I’m sure I could have gotten a pumpkin-scented candle from Fred Meyers or Target for about 1/4th of that. Oh, well. I love Whole Foods, and yes… must get some stock soon.