Lighting Ideas

If you’re tired of stumbling over the dog, or some toy left out by the children, on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night, a night lite for the hallway or bathroom can be a smart purchase. Don’t get one of those tacky ones though (the kind you feel compelled to hide when guests come over); get something attractive such as this lamp from Uncommon Goods.

The night lite is made using an actual sugar maple leaf that has been preserved in 24 karat antique gold, “so it retains its delicate outline and tiny pores and veins just like in nature.” A lot prettier than the toadstool night lite I had as a kid. As the site says, “During the day, this night light will be a stunning gold and ethereal accent to your home. When turned on at night, the soft golden light will serve as a guide in the darkness without sacrificing aesthetics.”

The price is $45:

Sugar Maple Leaf Night Light

Candles come in just about any size and shape you can imagine, so pine cone candles shouldn’t be any kind of surprise. They’d look pretty funny if you actually burned them (all those little ridges would melt quickly, I’d imagine), but if you’re just looking for some rustic decorations for your log home or country kitchen, then they could be nice.

The candles stand 4″ high and are available from Plow & Hearth. A set of 3 will cost you $30.

If I bought all the cool candles and candle holders I found on the Internet, I wouldn’t have any room in my home for me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t write about them.

These alabaster candles and lanterns caught my eye, thanks to the interesting swirling color and the assymetrical shapes. Apparently, the holders are carved right from the banks of the Nile. “The deep secrets of this warm and luminous stone have been handed down through the generations since its earliest use. Ancient Egyptian legend speaks of the magical powers alabaster maintains when lit. The Phoenicians used lit alabaster to ward off evil in their entranceways. Centuries later, the Muslims used the magical presence of this stone to build the entire Mohamed Ali Mosque, from floor to ceiling. Today these glowing alabaster lanterns and romantic votives remain magical to us, ensuring a relaxed and romantic atmosphere.”

All that history in one tiny candle holder. Not bad, eh?

You can purchase them from D.I.G.S.

I like the idea of solar lighting–anything that uses the sun’s energy for power is okay in my book… and you don’t have to lay any complicated underground wiring for solar lamps either–but there seem to be a lot of… let’s just say… tacky lights on the market this year. Case in point: the solar toadstool.

It’s on sale at Target (not surprising) for $40, and it reminds me a lot of the Smurf houses (though I don’t recall the Smurfs living in glow-in-the-dark domiciles). According to the product description, the lamp is actually supposed to lure toads inside, where they can hang out at night instead of damaging your vegetation. I don’t know… do you gardeners have big toad problems?

Despite its solar claim, the toadstool lamp does require a battery, so keep that in mind if you decide to buy one.

Target

I’m always drawn to candle holders (and have far too many of them cluttering up the mantle, bookshelves, and other knick-knack-collectors), so this prism lantern caught my eye. Place an ordinary votive inside, and the flame creates a rainbow of color to reflect into the room. How does it work? Here’s the blurb from the product description:

“Usually a prism is a glass crystal that separates light into all the colors of the spectrum (rainbow). For the first time, a holographic film is encapsulated inside the glass of a lantern. The hologram bends and reflects the candles light into multiple, 3-dimensional rainbows, endlessly flickering and changing color and shape.”

The candle lantern can be used indoors or outdoors, and it’s available for $30 at Amazon:

Prism Lantern

Here’s a candle holder for those who purchase tealights by the 100-pack, enjoy nature and nature-inspired household items, and like buying eco-friendly products that help out the environment. Yes, all that in one product!

Viva Terra’s Recycled Metal Tree of Tealights is a holder that “artfully illuminates a table setting while adding its own sculptural interest.” It features “graceful and sensuous metallic branches” that “fan out from a wood base to securely hold tea lights that cast a warm, inviting glow.” And it looks neat too.

You can buy the tealight tree online for $115 (and don’t forget to pick up some beeswax tealight candles while you’re at it):

Viva Terra

If you don’t want to contribute to all the light pollution in your city, you might want to check into outdoor lamps that have been certified as night sky friendly. This means they don’t cast stray light up into the night sky and they don’t shine over into your neighbor’s bedroom (which would probably annoy him if he’s trying to sleep…).

You can actually find web sites out there that specialize in selling only lamps which don’t contribute to light pollution. This outdoor wall lantern is from Starry Night Lights, where it will cost you $249. They have lots of outdoor lighting that doesn’t look any different from a lot of the stuff available in the local home improvement store, but it’s certified to be night-sky friendly.

http://www.starrynightlights.com/

via Home Improvement Ideas

If you’re looking for some fun lighting that is decorative as well as functional, check out these Olivia star pendant lamps.

Available from the Pottery Barn for $250 a piece, the pendants are made with frosted white glass panels in a bronze metal frame. If that seems pricey, take note that they’re a bit bigger than they look in the picture. The lamps measure 18.5″ wide x 18″ high and come with a 6′ chain, so they can be hung in your foyer or any place you want to dangle a bit of eye candy from the ceiling.

If you’re a fan of environmentally friendly products that are made from reclaimed or recycled parts, then you’ll probably dig this candle holder.

“The S-Curve candle holder is made from a curving automotive timing chain and topped off with bicycle cog flowers. Spin the holder on its base to hear the familiar clicking of an old 10-speed bike’s freewheel.”

You do have to have a taste for the industrial to fit something like this into your decor. The candle holder could be a fun accessory in a brick-walls-concrete-floors-and-exposed-beams loft, where one expects a bit of the industrial feel. The candle holder is $36 from eco-artware.com

If you know many people who have candles, or just like to browse the candle shops whenever you go shopping, you’ve probably seen those wooden logs cut in half lengthwise that have little holes hollowed out to hold tea lights (sometimes the logs are even plastic and just look like wood… kind of). I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found them kind of tacky, or maybe just too “rustic” for my tastes.

This glass tea light “log” is a little different though. It has a hollow center, so you can thread ribbons, seasonal greens, flowers, or anything else that will fit, through the center. This lets it be used any time of year for a table decoration. It’s available over at the Gardeners’ Supple Store for $22.50.