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Modern Ways to Light Your Home

7 February 2019

From basic to bold and dimmed to dramatic, switching up the lighting in your home is an easy way to give your living space a fuss-free makeover.
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Lighting in a home is an important consideration, key to enhancing the look and feel of your space. There's ceiling pendants, floor lights, wall lights, chandeliers and table lights - with so many designs and styles it can be hard to know where to start... the choices you make need to suit your space and provide you with the kind of task lighting you require. 

Here are our tips on how to create a well-lit, functional modern space.

Create clusters

Clustering lights is a great way of introducing more light into a darker living area. If you are looking to make a statement whilst creating a brighter, lighter interior, clusters of multiple lights will define a space by drawing the eye. Our No.1 Pendants are both functional and eye-catching and are the perfect centre piece for your interior.

Consider suspending ceiling pendants at different heights to lend an element of structure and relief to a space. Experimenting with different wood finishes is also another way of adding interest, and one we are big fans of here at Tom Raffield. Mixing colours, patterns and textures is an easy way of keeping your interior fresh and interesting.

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A cluster of Urchin Pendants, combining ash, oak and walnut finishes, draws the eye in Tom Raffield's Grand Designs home.
No.1-Table-clusterOur Giant No. 1 Pendants create a striking centre piece above a dining table setting.

Get creative, make a statement

There are no limits when it comes to lighting. The great thing about there being so many designs to choose from means that the possibilities are endless. Be creative when lighting your home - bend shadow and scatter light to create art on your walls, floors or ceilings.

Our versatile lighting collections are intended to be both functional and aesthetically beautiful. Why not choose a few bolder, statement designs to sit with classic, paired back pieces to create an interesting contrast?

Our Arame Wall Lights create enthralling patterns on your walls, whilst our Giant Flock Chandelier is a striking design piece that promises to excite and transform your space.

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Our Arame Wall Lights scatter shadow to create enticing patterns on a statement, colour accent wall.
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Our Wall Lights can be used as a creative way of illuminating a space, representing a merging of function and design.
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The perfectly balanced curves of our Giant Flock Chandelier make a bold statement above a staircase at Tom Raffield's Grand Designs home.

Think function

When lighting your home, it's important not to ignore the different functions of your rooms. Dining rooms are well suited to overhead lighting and are a good opportunity to create a cluster or centrepiece using multiple pendants.

When lighting living rooms, layering is key. Combinations of ceiling lights, wall lights and table lights allow you to adapt your lighting to the multi-functional nature of a living space. For cosy nights in, localise and direct light by using floor lights and dimmable wall lights. For parties, gatherings and other social occasions, ceiling lights can be kept on to distribute light more evenly, whilst table lights can be used to highlight ornaments and draw the eye to specific corners of your room.

Our Wheal, Hanter or Mooring Table Lights can help to create a comfortable work space when the need to focus on specific tasks arises.

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Use height to your advantage when lighting a room, as pictured here with our Wheal Floor Light.
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A curve of sustainably sourced oak suspends a naked filament bulb. Our Wheal Table Light is the meeting point of design and function.

Set the mood

Creating the right mood in a room can be challenging. In order to make a space feel welcoming rather than overly bright or glaring, it is important to consider not only the size and design of a light, but also which lampshades and lightbulbs to use.

Darker, opaque lampshades make light more localised, whilst lighter ones allow light to shine and permeate through a room. Choosing lighting pieces with no lampshades at all, such as our Wheal or Mooring Ranges, creates a minimal, stylised look when combined with a filament bulb.

Dimmers are also a great way to adjust and set lighting to suit your mood in a space. All Tom Raffield ceiling and wall lights are fitted with dimmers to make it easy for you to create a more personalised ambience.

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The darker lampshade of the Stem Table Light casts light downward, while the LED bulb helps create a softer, warmer light.

Cosy up

If you’re looking to create a cosy space to while away the chilly winter months, the correct lighting is an essential consideration.

One of the best ways to create optimal cosiness is to experiment and layer your lighting. Combining ceiling, wall, floor and table lights in a room allows you to dim or turn off certain lights to achieve softer ambience. Selecting warmer toned light bulbs and darker lampshades which cast light downwards are also useful tools for curating cosiness.

cage floor light
Our Cage Floor Light plays with light, its delicate yet rigid birch surround creating an intimate ambience as the warm light within filters through.
urchin wall
Inspired by light falling upon the ocean, our Urchin Wall Light is both enchanting and comforting. An ideal companion for your cosy snug.
eddy-wall
Our Eddy Wall Light diffracts light high and low, calming and relaxing your space.

Posted: 07.02.19
Updated: 15.04.21

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