Today's lighting takes liberties with traditional designs.
Modern lighting has abandoned tradition in favor of energy efficiency and originality. Never mind the ceramic base with the paper shade on a side table--your garage deserves some dimmable mood lighting. Your dining room might be illuminated by sculptures on a sideboard. A cluster of bare bulbs suspended from the ceiling on wires hangs over the breakfast nook and even the children's room gets a contemporary note with unbreakable lamps that resemble amoebas and cling to a wall.
Chandeliers
Chandeliers aren't just for dining rooms or formal salons anymore. They are popping up all over, from bathrooms to beach cottages to garages---even as the centerpiece of an unused fireplace. A Swarovski crystal-encrusted design worthy of Versailles might turn up in the guest bathroom; be sure to check codes for where to hang chandeliers in bathrooms---definitely not right over the tub. Found objects become chandeliers when a curved, bleached piece of driftwood is wrapped in strings of tiny white holiday lights to sparkle over a barnwood kitchen island. An inexpensive translucent capiz shell chandelier that comes ready to assemble can be embellished with clear filament-hung small shells, bits of beach glass and fabulous beads. Antiqued painted metal chandeliers with colored glass flowers are pretty in a teen bedroom and a chandelier can replace a boring entry light on a theatrical front porch.
Lighting as Sculpture
Primary-colored and curved organic shapes of plastic or impact resistant glass become a collection of sconces randomly scattered on the wall of a children's room. A gigantic white "ceramic" vase---actually plastic--tops a supersized classic globe light made of white resin shot with coppery threads. The huge hanging light sculpture dominates the room but looks like a graceful work of art, not an enormous pendant lamp. Wired from the side, it can sit on the floor. Cumulus clouds shaped in translucent resin, paper and cloth can be dimmed or brightened as overhead lighting that seems to erase the ceiling. Shapes intricately molded of bits of plastic, strips of bent or woven metal, or handblown glass complement spare modern d cor and look enough like sculpture to be mistaken for pieces in the contemporary art collection.
"Green" Lighting
Green is the new white---the color of the light isn't green, but the environmental effect of the lighting is. Compressed fluorescent lamps are cooler and save money by giving more light for less energy than incandescent light bulbs. Fluorescents now mimic daylight, so the color of the light is no longer harsh and institutional. LED lights also come color-adjusted and are energy savers that give off a strong light. Daylighting in modern home design---or renovation---uses every advantage of natural sunlight in illuminating a home---from skylights to window size and position, house siting and types of shades and curtains. Motion and occupant sensors regulate the lights in rooms that are only used sometimes---so you never forget to turn off the lights. Solar lighting uses the sun's energy to power lights in all or part of the house and on the grounds.
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