Lighting immediately elevates any space. When your home has multiple sources of dimmed lighting, it creates a glowing cocoon of warmth. Who doesn’t love warm cocoons? Not only is that glow welcoming, it becomes an environment ideal for tasks light reading a book or playing a little coffee table solitaire. My favorite source for lighting is Hudson Valley Lighting so partnering with them has been a dream! They have every type of light in every type of finish and navigated their site is a breeze. Customize your search just the way you want it.
“We design and build beautiful fixtures for people who put quality first—for people who are not willing to trade off that increasingly rare characteristic.”
—DAVID LITTMAN, FOUNDER of HUDSON VALLEY LIGHTING
The recipe for good lighting is several sources of light installed or placed in just the right spot. What types of lighting does your room need and where does it all go you ask? Let’s get to it!
TASK LIGHTING
Though our ceilings are high in this space, I want the focus to be out back so it was important to find low furniture with clean lines. Keeping this in mind, it was important to find task lighting that didn’t visually block the line of sight in any way. These Hudson Valley Lighting ‘Hillcrest’ floor lamps are the perfect height and style with an acrylic column and minimal look. They cast a soft glow balancing out the light in the room and ideal for someone snuggled in the corner of the sofa with a book. That’s me most evenings! What a difference lighting has made from when we first started putting this room together.
Tips for the ideal task lighting situation:
Not only does the actual fixture visually need to fit within the space, keep in mind the light it casts. Symmetry is always a good idea so adding a task light at each end of the sofa gives off even light and creates balance in the space. If the light is too bright, be sure to put it on a dimmer. Amazon has these nifty and inexpensive dimmers that can be hidden with the rest of the cords under your sofa. Just like it’s key to be sure every seating spot also has a spot to set down a drink, every spot should have access to light for reading.
CHANDELIERS
In keeping with our beachy/minimal/luxe/organic/neutral vibe (why pick just one? ha!) I chose this stunning Corbett Lighting Circo Chandelier. The hand worked Venetian glass curves in a pattern reminiscent of waves creating an understated sparkle. Again, it was important to visually not distract from the view outside, so the clear glass allows light to come through and though the width is an ideal proportion for the room, the height of the fixture isn’t so massive it hinders the view.
Tips for choosing and hanging a chandelier in the living room:
Hang chandeliers at least 7′ above the ground in living rooms and foyers with standard 8′ ceilings. Hang them at about 8’ off the ground with taller ceilings. If you have an open room, don’t let it hang lower than the height of the first floor.
Keep the scale of the room in mind when selecting the best light. Larger rooms deserve larger lights and of course in a small room, you don’t want to overwhelm the space with a huge chandelier. The length and width of a room added together should be around the same number as the diameter of the chandelier in inches. For example, if a room measuring 20 feet by 20 feet, an ideal width for a chandelier would be about 40 inches. When in doubt, it’s best to choose something a tad too large over something too small. Bigger is better!
ENTRY LAMPS
We have a somewhat long and narrow entry so finding a long and narrow entry table was a must. Again, the goal (whenever it gets done…) is to not visually block the path to the exterior. We have an oversized round mirror so I wanted to find two lamps (the Symmetry is Queen!) that would visually feel weighty flanking the open portion to the right and left of the round mirror. That sounds super complicated. Basically, if you have weight on one side, the other side needs a friend too. It doesn’t have to be two lamps but I tried just one and it seemed lonely and sad. I chose the Troy Lighting La Brea lamps because they’re weighty and ground the space beautifully. They are literally and figuratively super heavy. They are 28 pounds each, I looked it up. I LOVE them. They are incredible quality both in the base and the lamp shades.
Tips for choosing entry lamps:
If you have a round mirror, it’s best to balance it out by flanking it with lighting or a table lamp on one side and maybe a vase or something visually equal on the other side. Lamp shades give away the quality of the light. Wonky lamp shades or shades made of poor quality materials cheapen the whole light real quick. Linen shades are ideal offering a bit of elevated texture for the light to filter through. If you love a lamp but the shade is less than ideal, consider picking up a better quality replacement shade.
ISLAND PENDANTS
A kitchen remodel is in our future at some point, we’re not sure when that will happen so we wanted to choose a small-ish chandelier that would compliment the current kitchen and work with the kitchen we’ve dreamed up that will be more fitting with the architecture of the home. Polished nickel is my favorite finish and we already know we want our kitchen sink hardware to be a bit more traditional to contrast with our future cabinets that will be sleek and modern. This Hudson Valley Lighting Lynden Chandelier is a dream!!! It’s understated yet luxurious with a layer of alabaster that softly filters the light and the detail of the rim is truly a piece of art.
Tips for choosing and hanging island pendants:
Depending on the size of your island, choose one larger pendant/chandelier or multiple smaller pendants. I love our butcher block island giving it the feel of a dining table, so I opted to use a small chandelier to ground the space. Find the center of your island and either hang one larger light (for smaller islands) or if hanging two, find the center point and space the lights 30-36” apart with the widest portion of the pendant being 30” from the other pendant. Sometimes it’s handy to hang a balloon the length you’re wanting your light as a visual guide. I’m super visual so this prevents my husband’s arm from falling off while he holds the light and I say “ummm….a little higher…no wait! A little lower…” . (Side note an unrelated, I do tell my daughter to marry a man who will hold that light for her or the picture on the wall or the curtains or whatever it is while she decides right where she wants it.) The lowest portion of the light should be 30-36” off the counter.
To summarize, Hudson Valley Lighting and their incredible family of lighting has every possible light you could ever want, use balloons to decide where to hang them before cutting chain or rods AND bigger is better and more is best when it comes to choosing size and the amount of fixtures. Also, dimmers are non-negotiable either at the wall for hardwired fixtures or if lamps are too bright, use a plug in dimmer. Cheers to cozy fall nights!
COMPLETE CLICKABLE SOURCE LIST :
Living room chandelier- Circo Chandelier
Task Lighting- Hillcrest Floor Lamps
Kitchen Island Chandelier- Hudson Valley Lighting Lyndon Chandelier in Polished Nickel
Table Lamps – Troy Lighting La Brea
Plug In Dimmer- Amazon
Coffee Table Books – Amazon
Coffee Table Bowl – Santa Barabara Design Studio
Candle – Hawaii Candle
Mexican Beach Pebble in Wood bowl–
Vase- similar Scratch Vase by Sagebrook Home
Or the grey option here
(post sponsored by Hudson Valley Lighting. See Disclosure link for details)