Tag Archives: kitchen

How to Decorate With Chandeliers

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When it comes to lighting effects, not all chandeliers are alike. Here is a rundown of the different types of chandeliers and the type of light they are likely to cast over your dining room table.

Late Victorian: The late Victorian style of chandelier lighting is very similar to the late seventies style of chandelier. This style consists of stacked circular glass blown globes that are stacked in brass wheels of usually eight and then four tiers. This type of chandelier casts a very soft pearly glow and look best in a dim wood paneled room. The more stark seventies versions with the pure white opaque glass look best hanging over a kitchen table and tend to cast a much brighter light.

Gas Electric: This style of chandelier consists of tulip shaped flutes and is usually made of heavy engraved glass. In Victorian times there would have been candles inside these frosted flutes but now a days there is candle shaped light bulbs or regular light bulbs. This style of chandelier which is usually mounted on a metallic wheel, whether it be brass, iron or metal, are usually very bright and sometimes look better somewhere like a bathroom where you need lots of light and not necessarily in a dining room where something more subtle is required.

Arts and Crafts: You know you are looking at an Arts and Crafts style of chandelier if the glass shades are dangling downwards from the wheel rather than sitting like cups on the rim of the wheel. This is characterized by balanced mobiles that consist of two to four to six lampshades on a rustic looking metal frame that hangs from the ceiling.

Mission Style: If the chandelier has black iron limbs or wheels then it is probably mission style. Mission style chandeliers usually also have square shades made of streaked white or pearly opaque glass. This type of chandelier usually casts a dimmer light then most.

Wagon Wheel: This eclectic chandelier was a common sight in the suburbs in the seventies and basically consisted of a wooden wheel that was topped with miniature lamps shades. It casts a nice, yellowish dim light for a dining room.

Atomic Age: Also known as a fifties revival style, these are the chandeliers that look like metal starbursts from which shoot multicolored Christmas bulbs. This unique style never seems that dated as it looks both modern and antique at the same time and the light that it can cast is often pretty because of the different colored bulbs. It does however cast a dimmer light than most.

Art Deco Chandeliers – These are getting rarer and rarer and cast beautiful soft lights the colored round pendant drops and flower shaped fluted shades that are characteristic of the style. The glass on an art deco chandelier is often green or pink and it can also be frosted or streaked with color.

There are hundreds of more styles of chandeliers, especially if you want to get into discussing crystal pendant chandeliers but the above represents the most common and affordable styles that you can find online or in stores.

Decorating With Window Shades

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Many people think that window shades have nothing to do with interior design and fashion. This is because when shopping for window shades many consumers believe that they should go with the first type of shade that actually fits the window. This is a little big like putting the cart before the horse. The result is often pedestrian plastic Venetian slats in the children’s bedroom (more suited for an office) and rustic folding door type window shades in the bathroom (more suited for a kitchen.)

The point is that when it comes to choosing window shades you don’t have to make your various rooms look like a bad renovation from a cheap landlord. Here is a run down of which shades look best with different types of decors.

If your décor is Italian neo modern, then Venetian blinds are your best choice of window coverings. There is no point in decorating your home with sinuous curving couches and sleek lamp fixtures only to ruin the effect with ratty looking rattan blinds or roll down blinds for Ikea. Lateral Venetian blinds suit the Italian neo modern look the best. The vertical ones just look tacky.

If your décor has an Asian or Mediterranean flair then bamboo slatted or roll down venetian blinds can look fantastic. These types of window shades also suit rooms that contain rattan or teak furniture. Roll down blinds made of rice paper with minimal designs on them also add oomph to oriental or Asian décor.

If your décor is Rustic, Mission or Country in style then you are best to avoid plastic Venetian blinds altogether. Mission furniture plus Venetian blinds equals the white trailer trash look. You are much better off to opt for drawstring style window shades made of bunched or draped fabric. Wooden shutters that are hinged so that they open like cupboard doors also flatter more rustic looks.

Aside from décor you should also keep in mind the function of the room where the windows for. For instance blackout roll down shades may help you sleep by blocking out all of the light. In this case attractive sheer curtains or swags can also be hung to conceal the black roll. A roll down shade is also better for a children’s bedroom as drapes are easily pulled down and tiny fingers can get trapped in the slats of Venetian blinds.

However given the fantastic designs that are available on the market that are available for sale there should be no reason at all to have to conceal a roll down shade with drapes or sheers. Roll down shades are offered in thousands of exciting colors and motifs and there is definitely a roll down shade that is perfect for every décor. You can buy light pink or blue roll down shades to decorate a nursery, burgundy and gold ones to decorate an office or a library and ones boasting gingham or culinary motifs to decorate a kitchen. Given that roll down window shades are so abundant and inexpensive there is absolutely no excuse to have boring or mismatched window shade treatments in your home!