Interior Decorating: Light Styles

Adirondack Style

Log cabin style on a large scale combined with early electric, Arts and Crafts, Craftsman Style. Natural stone, twig filigree, natural textured interior fabrics and wall decor.

Cozy, but elegant, rugged simplicity. Adirondack Style is a rustic style that comes from the history of the Adirondack Park area of New York State's northeastern corner. It is characterized by elements drawn from Native Americans, such as furs and skins, splint basketry and bark finishes combined with Persian carpets and comfort. Tiffany lighting coordinates well with this style.

Rustic Bath Lighting l Rustic Chandeliers l Rustic Ceiling Fans l Rustic Pendants l Rustic Wall Sconces l Art Deco Chandeliers l Tiffany Pendants l Art Deco Pendants l Art Deco Wall Sconces

Americana Style

This is a more formal country style. Americana style is very personal. Sophisticated and elegant this is still a comfortable style drawing on traditional American styles. Traditional or whimsical lighting works well with this style.

Art Deco Chandeliers l Tiffany Pendants l Art Deco Pendants l Art Deco Wall Sconces

American Country Style

Informal, unpretentious, a blend of Shaker furniture, Amish quilts, rag rugs and stenciled surfaces. Rough homespun fabrics and milk painted wood.

Art Deco Style

Glamorous, geometric, Circles, squares, semi-circles, triangles, octagons and cubes repeated in furniture, carpets, rugs, wallpaper, fabrics, tiles and terrazo flooring. Motifs included sunrises, stylized trees, flowers, birds, animals, fans and fountains. It borrowed from Azec, Egyptian and other motifs. Light colored woods, Bakelite, chrome, leather, marble and glass.

The Exposition des Art Decoratifs was held in Paris in 1925.

Art Deco Chandeliers l Tiffany Pendants l Art Deco Pendants l Art Deco Wall Sconces l Fine Art Lamps Villa 1919

Art Nouveau

Curving organic, sinuous lines. Twisting tendril-like plants, flowing hair. Movement. Drawing on the motifs of the Rococo style, this style is distinctive for it's consistent use of wavy lines. Delicate wrought iron.

La Maison de L'Art Nouveau was a shop in Paris in the late 1800s. It specialized in unique modern decorative items.

Architect Henri Guimard designed the Paris Metro entrances using this style.

Tiffany Pendants l Art Nouveau Chandeliers l Art Nouveau Pendants l Art Neoveau Wall Sconces l Kalco Tribecca Series

Arts and Crafts

Simple, clean style. Dignified, simple, plainly made by hand. Straight lines, cut-outs, mortise and tenon support, and peg joinery, clean simple construction. The geometric angles and the quarter sawn oak

The Grove Park Inn, in Ashville, North Carolina is a good example of this style. If you have the opportunity to visit, you will see the original part of the Inn, still in this style.

Art Deco Chandeliers l Tiffany Pendants l Art Deco Pendants l Art Deco Wall Sconces l Fine Art Lamps Villa 1919

Asian Style

Asian elements to add to any eclectic or reproduction decor.

Bauhaus

Bold vertical and horizontal lines. Modern, efficent, hygienic. Walls are usually white with no baseboards, picture rails or other details. Large windows, lots of natural light. Built-in furniture. Tubular metal.

The Bauhaus design school was founded in Germany in 1919. It's goal was to link art, architecture and design. The Bauhaus school was a powerful force in the Modern Movement.

Baroque Style

Decoration, decoration, decoration. Very formal. Lavish and elegant. Ornate, with bold curves and dramatic interiors. Mirrors, carving, gilding, painted paneling. Paintings in ornate plaster or wooden frames. Painted ceilings and walls. Elaborate frescoes, paintings and sculptures. Elaborate pillars and entablatures. Curved vaulted frescoed ceilings.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Biedermeier Style

Simple, pleasant, comfortable and homey. Wood furniture, wood floors, either parquet or slat. Simple framed pictures used in series. Narrow striped or small flowered wallpaper and fabric.

Papa Biedermeier was a cartoon character. Meier is a common German last name and bieder is German for plain.

Casual Style

Unpretentious and easy to live with.

Contemporary Bath Lighting l Contemporary Chandeliers l Contemporary Floor Lamps l Contemporary Mirrors l Contemporary Outdoor Lighting l Contemporary Pool Table or Island Lights l Contemporary Pendants l Contemporary Wall Sconces

Century Traditional Style

Mixing English, French, and American furniture from this era

Traditional Bath Lighting l Traditional Ceiling Light l Traditional Chandeliers l Traditional Floor Lamps l Traditional Table Lamps l Traditional Mirrors l Traditional Outdoor Lighting l Traditional Pool Table or Island Lights l Traditional Pendants l Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Chinoiserie Style

European designers interpreted Chinese art drawing on the disciplines and traditions of the previous centuries. Chinese Chippendale is a perfect example of this style. Motifs included pagodas, dragons, lotus flowers and the rose medallion. Ornate stucco and wood carving, wallpaper and fabric. Black and red lacquer. This style can be traditional and heavy or delicate and whimsical.

Classics Style

The standbys, the neccessary lighting.

Classical Revival Style

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Classical or Ancient Greek and Roman Style

Simplicity, columns as vertical supports for horizontal beams, stone and marble. Beauty through attention to line and proportion. Harmonious.

Roman Style adds brick and cement. Domes, arches and vaults, larger in scale. More florid and ornate.

Colonial Style

Contemporary Style

Less is more. Brass, chrome or brushed finishes with sleek design lines are characteristic of this style.

Contemporary Bath Lighting l Contemporary Chandeliers l Contemporary Floor Lamps l Contemporary Mirrors l Contemporary Outdoor Lighting l Contemporary Pool Table or Island Lights l Contemporary Pendants l Contemporary Wall Sconces

Cottage Style

Small scale. Mixing antiques, especially pine, with patchwork quilts, handmade items, antiques and flea market finds. This style is comfortable, livable.

Country Style

Informal and comforatble. Warm and welcoming. Stained or natural wood, especially pine. Furniture, floors, even wall paneling may be given a white picled finish or a pale wash of color and distressed to look old.

Simple furniture, often whimsical. Natural materilas, such as wood, stone, slate, rush, cane, cotton. Small floral prints, gingham and lace. Patchwork for pillows or spreads. Flat paint or small patterned wallpaper for wall treatments.

Craftsman Style

Simple, clean style. Dignified, simple, plainly made by hand. Straight lines, cut-outs, mortise and tenon support, and peg joinery, clean simple construction. The geometric angles and the quarter sawn oak

The Grove Park Inn, in Ashville, North Carolina is a good example of this style. If you have the opportunity to visit, you will see the original part of the Inn, still in this style.

Tiffany Pendants l Art Deco Chandeliers l Tiffany Pendants l Art Deco Pendants l Art Deco Wall Sconces

Decorator Style

Carefully coordinated. True to a single approach. Consistent.

Delft

De Stijl

Abstract rectangular forms in primary colors. Clean-cut, no moldings, contiunous horizontal windows.

"De Stijl," The Style was the name of an avant-garde magazine.

Eames Style

Charles Eames and Ray Eames

Early American

Reproduction Early Electric Styles

Eclectic Style

This is the style for people that don't want to follow the rules. Mix and match from a variety of styles that appeal to you. This style can include elements from any style. It can mix pattern and color, shapes and motifs.

Eclectic Bath Lighting l Eclectic Chandeliers l Eclectic Close to Ceiling l Eclectic Pendants l Eclectic Wall Sconces

Empire Style

French interiors of the 19th century reflected the Empire building of Napoleon. Strong classical influence. Gilt and ormolu.

The campaign tent inspired tented ceilings, draped windows, beds, even chairs. Briliant colored silks, draped and pleated. Egyptian motifs such as lotus leaves, obelisks, winged disks and sphinxes, as well as winged lions and other emblems of the conquered cultures.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

English Baroque

English Country Style

Larger scale. Molded window nad door frames. Traditional fireplaces and manels. Large scale floral patterns, such as cabbage roses are repeated in wallpaper and chintz fabric used for windows, uphostery and slipcovers. Muted, faded colors, dark wood or painted furnishings. Window treatments and soft furnishings are ruffled, fringed or trimmed.

Ethnic Style

Ethnic elements to add to any eclectic or reproduction decor.

European Style

Reproduction lighting styles.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Florentine

Folk Style

Handmade whimsical lighting.

Formal Country Style

Formal Traditional Style

Brass and glass, ceiling medallions.

French Country Style

"The elegance of a French country estate, without any of the traditional French pretentiousness."

Charles Faudree's French Country Signature

Rich color, texture and ornament. Overflowing, but never cluttered or overpowering. Lavish yet comfortable.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

French Empire

French Style

Sophisticated and luxurious. Colored marble for floors and ceilings. Jewel tones, emerald green, garnet red. Fountains, vaulted ceilings, trompe l'oeil murals, ornately framed paintings, mirrors, tapestries, sterling silver. Plasterwork and wood carvings.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Garden Style

Cheerful natural style lighting.

Kalco Bird & Berry Series

Gothic Revival Style

More serious, based on archeological study. Stone, instead of cast iron and plaster. Frequently used in public buildings.

Gothic Style

The elegant pointed gothic arch illustrates this style. Gothic architecture is identifiable by vaulting, buttressing and the pointed arch, which eliminated the need for thick, load-bearing walls.

Mostly seen in cathedrals still standing all over Europe, the large, soaring space defines this style. Gothic buildings, built primarily of stone, use color, stained glass, natural light, arched windows. Decoration, ornamentation, flowing stone tracery. Quatrefoil, trefoil and barred windows.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Gothick Style

Amusing small scale use of gothic style. Charming, picturesque. Cast iron and plaster instead of natural materials. Pointed arches, vaulted ceilins, slender piers and trefoiled tracery windows.

Greek Revival Style

Plainer, more severe than Classical. More intimate and informal. Clear, pale colors, narrow friezes, plain, lower ceilings.

Greek Style

This is a clean simple style. Similar to Caribean and Island Style, this combines natural elements, beautiful colors and comfort.

Hard Edge Style

Clean, clean, clean. No clutter. Cool sophisticated industrial chic. Simple geometric shapes, minimal colors, a variety of textures.

High Tech Style

This style is characterized by a technological glitter of chrome and space-age glass. Buidings in this style deliberately expose their engineering and technology.

Historic Style

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Indian Style

Indian architecture had an influence on style in the mid 1800s.

Indian motifs and design elements drawn from Indian palaces, homes monuments inspired lodges, pavilions, gateways and houses in England.

Indian themes have been used primarily in public places, such as movie houses and hotels. This style is characterized by elaborate carvings and beautiful colors, as well as Indian motifs such as palm trees and elephants.

Island Style - Caribbean Style

Bright, cheerful and colorful. This style can reflect anything from the plantation manors to the colorful painted houses. The Creole heritage blends colors and styles in a casual happy style with decorative touches that make up a tropical Pacific island or Caribbean island.

Japanese Style

Discriminating, minimalist, clean and uncluttered. Not symetrical. White and cream natural fabrics, touches of black or red. Plants. Shoji screens, futons, floor cushions, low tables, lacquer.

Lodge Style

Adirondack Style, sometimes referring to a lighter California Lodge Style. The house in Seabiscuit looked like Lodge Style to me.

Rustic Bath Lighting l Rustic Chandeliers l Rustic Ceiling Fans l Rustic Pendants l Rustic Wall Sconces

Mackintosh

British variation of the Art Nouveau style. More restarined and refined. Angular, upright and stripped down. Less curvilinear and excessive. Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh used elongated forms, pastel colors and less extreme curves.

He used stylized flower and plant shapes. Architectural elements were less ornmented, often unframed.

Tiffany Pendants l Art Nouveau Chandeliers l Art Nouveau Pendants l Art Neoveau Wall Sconces

Medieval Style

Memphis Style

Fun, non-functional details. Intentionally artificial.

Started in Milan, a group of designers from Italy, Japan, America and Britain developed furniture, fabrics, ceramics and glass in fun materials and colors.

Metro Style

Curving organic, sinuous lines. Twisting tendril-like plants, flowing hair. Movement. Drawing on the motifs of the Rococo style, this style is distinctive for it's consistent use of wavy lines. Delicate wrought iron.

La Maison de L'Art Nouveau was a shop in Paris in the late 1800s. It specialized in unique modern decorative items.

Architect Henri Guimard designed the Paris Metro entrances using this style.

Mexican Style

Color, color, color. Ethnic interior design, Mexican handicrafts. Distressed painted furntiure mixed with antiques. Simple, robust country tables, weathered storage trunks, and sculptured sugar molds. Classic, timeless charm and character. This works in a restored adobe or a city apartment.

Minimalist Style

Less is More. Never untidy or cluttered. The bare minimum. No decorative frills, no pieces too bold. Severe and rectilinear. Natural or manufactured materials are smooth and hard. This style is characterized by smooth wood, leather, stone, linoleum, plasted, steel and chrome. Black, white, cream, taupe and grey. Shades instead of curtains. Built-in and concealed furnture.

Mission Style (California Mission Style)

With it's roots in Moorish Spain. This style draws on classic missions of New Mexico and California. It is reminiscent of Arts and Crafts style, but with a distintive cultural flavor. It is characterized by adobe, natural elements and color.

Mission Revival, Peublo Revival, and the more elaborate Spanish Colonial Revival are all variations of this style.

Fine Art Lamps Villa 1919

Modern Style

Cool and understated. Metal and glass. Industrial components in a domestic setting. Stream-lined, clean. Functional, without ornament or decoration. Simplicity. Big, simple, open spaces. Space, proportion and smooth surfaces.

Frank Lloyd Wright devloped simple horizontal lines, low open rooms, bare, uncluttered, comfortable spaces.

Le Corbusier introduced the Five Points of Architecture, "Les Five Points d' Une Architecture Nouvelle" in 1926. These are repeated all over the web, so I won't repeat them here.

Modern Bath Lighting l Modern Chandeliers l Modern Floor Lamps l Modern Fans l Celing Spot Lights l Modern Pool Table or Island Lights l Modern Pendants l Modern Wall Sconces l Modern Brackets

Natural Style

Lighting using natural materials, such as wood, mica, leather and stone.

Rustic Bath Lighting l Rustic Chandeliers l Rustic Ceiling Fans l Rustic Pendants l Rustic Wall Sconces

NeoClassicism

This style was a reaction to the curvy excesses of Rococo. Elegant and restrained. White ceilings, pastel blue, green and grey. Square lines. Greek or Roman style doors, windows, paneling and mirrors combined with columns and friezes. Decorative motifs included wreaths, ribbons, swags, laurels, acanthus and trophies. Elegant mantels, large mirrors.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Neoclassical Style

Graceful, light, slender and elegant. Painted, papered or fabric for wall treatments. Plaster cornices.

New England

New York Style

A trendy modern urban style.

Old World Style

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Palladianism

Elegant and delicate. Simple styles with quality workmanship and materials. Cabriole legs, claw feet. Beautifully finished wood. Ornate, with gilt, marble, mirrors and large-scale decorative furniture, while still simple and classical.

Andrea Palladio was an Italian architect. He studied classical Roman architecture and brought this style to his careful use of steps, columns, arches, columns and domes. Palladio sought to return to "correct" classical proportions. The influence of his architecture is found all over the world; especially in Italy, England, Ireland, North America and the West Indies. Palladio is by no means the first or only architect to look to the classical architecture for inspiration. But he published, explained and illustrated his designs, which became the standard from around the 1570's to1830's and has endured till this day.

For lighting, select from our Reproduction styles. Be very careful with proportions, especially scale. Don't be afraid of larger scale pieces. The scale of the chandelier or ceiling light needs to match the scale of the room. Higher ceilings need proportionately larger scale lighting, both in width and height.

Reproduction Chandeliers >
Reproduction Crystal Chandeliers >
Reproduction Crystal Ceiling Lights >
We carry a full line of Medallions, Rims and Domes >

Parisian

Post-Modern Style

Colorful, amusing, referencing many architectural and design styles. Smaller scale spaces. Ornament and decoration that works modern materials and production methods without being lifeless. Permissive, relaxed, this style can be playful, even funny.

Contemporary Bath Lighting l Contemporary Chandeliers l Contemporary Floor Lamps l Contemporary Mirrors l Contemporary Outdoor Lighting l Contemporary Pool Table or Island Lights l Contemporary Pendants l Contemporary Wall Sconces

Prairie Style

Refreshing spacious rooms with large windows to bring the outdoors in. The colors of prairie autumn. Simple, built-in furniture. Frank Lloyd Wright and a group of young architects in Chicago began this style. Living in harmony with nature. A more relaxed style of living, serene simplicity

Art Deco Chandeliers l Tiffany Pendants l Art Deco Pendants l Art Deco Wall Sconces

Primitive Style

Handmade whimsical lighting.

Rustic Bath Lighting l Rustic Chandeliers l Rustic Ceiling Fans l Rustic Pendants l Rustic Wall Sconces

Queen Anne Style

Oriental influence and curvilinear design.

Queen Anne Revival

White painted sash windows, curly gables, pretty balconies, molded terracotta and brickwork. Wood details.

Regency Style

Low, horizontal lines. Simple, solid shapes, gentle curves, restrained reeding and fluting. Saber leg. Egyptian motifs, such as lotus leaves, obelisks, winged disks and sphinxes.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Renaissance Style

Based on the Roman versions of the Classical Orders (rules of proportion and decoration for the columns and beams of buildings). This style drew freely from newly discovered archeological discoveries for sources in experimenting with proportion and detail.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Rococo Style

A reaction to the excesses of Baroque, intimate, informal. Elegant, but convenient. Lively and imaginative, this underated style brought energy and elegance to European painting, sculpture, architecture, and decorative arts.

Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Romantic Style

Easier to keep up than Victorian, this is a feminine and comfortable style. A cheerful combination of fabrics, furniture styles, and accessories. Lovely faded floral prints combined with antique linens.

A Midsummer Nights Dream l Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Rustic Style

Drawing on the traditions of western living. This style uses native materials, handmade textures. This style is perfect for cabins.

Antlers , wood and natural materials and textures are characteristic of this whimsical style.

Rustic Bath Lighting l Rustic Chandeliers l Rustic Ceiling Fans l Rustic Pendants l Rustic Wall Sconces

Shaker Style

Plain, plain, plain. Natural wood or wrought iron. Not ornamented.

Spanish Style (Spanish Colonial)

Don't think Spain, think Spanish colonial churches of the Southwest. Spanish Revival style is characterized by terracotta, mission style.

Fine Art Lamps Villa 1919

Swedish

Tiffany Style

Reproduction tiffany and modern stained glass lighting.

Tiffany Pendants

Traditional Style

Traditional includes a wide range of period styles. This is a formal and dignified style.

Traditional Bath Lighting l Traditional Ceiling Light l Traditional Chandeliers l Traditional Floor Lamps l Traditional Table Lamps l Traditional Mirrors l Traditional Outdoor Lighting l Traditional Pool Table or Island Lights l Traditional Pendants l Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces

Transitional Style

Transitional style combines the contemporary and traditional. Contemporary lighting is inspired by familiar traditional styles.

Transitional Bath Lighting l Transitional Chandeliers l Transitional Pendants l Transitional Sconces

Tudor

Victorian Style

Pretty rooms crammed with furniture, ornaments, collections, paintings and photographs. Stenciling and wallpaper are characteristic of this style. Printed pastoral scenes were popular for wall treatments and soft furnishings. Lace, knickknacks, roses and other flowers. This is a romantic and luxurious style.

Elegantly faded charm, cane, wrought iron, black and white checked floor. More is more. Crystal chandeliers.

A Midsummer Nights Dream l Reproduction Chandeliers l Reproduction Pool Table or Island Lights l Reproduction Pendants l Reproduction Wall Sconces