Interior Design Musings

Pendant lighting is a great way to add not only light to your home, but visually interesting artwork. Pendants are not hidden like recessed lighting or mounted to the cieling, but usually directly in our sight line. When choosing a pendant for your space, remember you are choosing a art peice that should work with your current decor. Look for unique peices that utilize unlikely materils such as this maple wood veneer pendant. It is just as stunning when turned off as it is when illuminated.

A Kitchen remodel includes so many big decisions, sometimes the small details can get missed. Take, for example, a beautifully planned tile backsplash interrupted every 48″ with a plain, white plastic outlet. Not quite the look you were going for, right?

During construction plans, make a point of letting your electrician know you would like the outlets to make as minimal an effect on your backsplash as possible. By moving the outlets up closer to the bottom of the wall cabinets and turning them horizontally, you will move the outlets further away from your sight line.

Take this idea one step farther and look beyond the standard white outlet plates offered with standard outlets. Many companies offer color coordinating outlet plates that will minimalize the visual effect of the necessary outlets. If you have a full height granite kitchen backsplash, consider hiring a faux painter to paint your outlets to match your granite slab.

Normally, I would not recommend that you mix lamps with your shower. But for these attractive and stylish splash lights from cb2.com, I’ll make an exception. Besides the obvious places you may want to incorporate extra light, these decorative modern lamps deserve more creative locations in your home. Line them across your shower wall for a soft candle-like glow during bubble baths. Astound your guests with centerpieces filled with water and floating flowers lit from below with these water-proof lights. Let me know what you come up with. I can’t wait to try them!

Babies minds, skills, and imaginations are developing everyday. The baby nursery is where it all begins. If you are looking for a fun and unique decor idea for babies room, play with the lighting. Try a Monorail - a ceiling suspending lighting system - with specialty pendants. I just love the Parachute man from Tech Lighting! The parachute lights up with a soft glow as the imaginary parachuter holds a low voltage spot light to accent family photos or artwork on the walls. The extra fun part– lighting fixtres can be changed and updated as Baby grows into his room.

Love Candlelight? Love Low-Maintenance? Bring these things together and you have the Rechargeable Flickering Candle by Sharper Image. It has the romantic quality of real candlelight and even flickers a bit for added realism. Now, I’m not saying that candles are the most high maintenance décor I own, but to relax in candlelight and not jerk awake, worrying if I’m going to burn the house down, is a definite plus. You can even bring them outside without the wind snuffing them out. And forget about dripping wax on furniture and floor! For added convenience—how about not worrying about replacing the light bulb? The set of six comes with a plug-in charger and LED bulbs that last up to 12 hours on a 10 hour charge and never need replacing. These “candles” get an A+ for convenience.