Lighting

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As much fun as I have recycling everything in my home from plastic food packaging to cereal boxes and glass bottles, I can’t help thinking I could probably find ways to reuse those items before I recycle. Unfortunately, my imagination often doesn’t take me much further than that. Thankfully, there are many, many people and companies out there that are more creative than I am. The ReMake It! Glass Bottle Lamp is a functional solution.

Now that you’ve decided to get a real tree this year — or to continue using the artificial tree you already own — there’s some decorating to do. One of the things I have always loved about the holidays driving around town to look at outdoor lighting displays. But I can’t help feeling that all that extra load on the energy grid is unnecessary. Christmas decorating needs to be more energy efficient. So tackle the most obvious culprit: Notoriously energy-hogging holiday lights.

If you’re a regular reader, you know by now that I’m pretty much a sucker for recycled…well…recycled anything. A product that was created from reused materials is my definition of ingenuity at work. It makes me feel like the company or person who made said product “gets it.” By “it”, I mean that consumers care how the products we are buying were made.

This lamp embodies that spirit of sustainability, and it is colorful and stylish to boot. With a base made of recycled glass, it is short and squat and perfect for a little girl’s room. Since I have pre-decorated my 3-year-old’s “big girl” room in pink and green, I’ll have to keep this one on the short list.

There’s something about stripes that makes me smile. Not all stripes — but colorful stripes that look this good are almost too much for me to resist. Inhabit’s BuiltBy lamps are a stroke of genius. Made of recycled wood fibers with no added formaldehyde, you can customize your lamp to look however you want — hence the name “BuiltBy”. As in BuiltBy you.

As much as I love the idea of customization, I love the idea of a sale even more. Inhabit offers some pre-made lamps in a wide variety of colors. Right now, those pre-designed pieces are on sale for 20%, a savings of more than $60. Not a bad option when you have great designs like the ones shown above to choose from.

I really have a thing for pendant lighting, and I’d probably use it in every room if I could. It is a create way to illuminate a dark corner, highlight an area or just add something extra special. I think of them like dangly earrings — they are unique, fabulous and attention grabbing.

These Seltzer Bottle Pendant Lamps from Sundance Catalog are a blast from the past. Vintage 1-liter seltzer bottles from the 1930s get a new life as light fixtures. The tin coating gives them a feel that is rustic and quirky without being too kitschy. And I can just picture the effect of light shining through the keyhole cutouts on the sides.

House hunting is one of my husband and my favorite hobbies, even when we’re not in the market. There are tons of new subdivisions in metro Atlanta, and most of the homes are open during the daytime. We like to go in and imagine what it would look like if we lived there. The state of the housing market, however, means that even houses we looked at months and even years ago are still unsold. For us, this means that million dollar homes we once would’ve had to call a Realtor to see are now being left open as well.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m originally from the Caribbean, so I tend to fall head over heels for anything that reminds me of the ocean — sandy colors, coral patterns, beach stones…you name it. Still, this lamp falls on that really thin line. You know — the line between unusually fabulous and over-the-top gaudy.

I am drawn to its organic shape and the shade made of natural, fossilized cocoa leaves, as well as the whimsical nature of the gangly “tentacles.” Definitely not something you see every day. But while the natural and green versions might have a chance in my home, I draw the line at the multicolored lampshade. Reminds me too much of stained glass windows in an old church.

As much as I consider myself a lover of ultra-modern design, every now and then, I come across something especially ornate or frilly that I can’t help but love. And since chandeliers have become another of my recent decor obsessions, it wasn’t hard to love this gorgeous vintage fixture restored by Zia & Tia.

I know I’ve said it a million times: shabby chic isn’t my style. However, I imagine I have more than a few readers who love the flowers and glam that come with it, so this one is for you. Personally, I can visualize this being the classic, traditional exclamation point on an ultra-modern living room in white, stainless steel and shades of blue. My husband doesn’t necessarily agree, but if he could see the picture in my mind, he’d love it too.

Aside from painting, I believe that changing your lighting is another of the easiest and most dramatic ways to change the look of a room. Switching from a fixture that is flush with the ceiling to a pendant, changing to a recycled cardboard lampshade in a great pattern or adding a gorgeous lamp in a dark corner can do wonders for changing not only the style of your space, but the way you look at the room.

When I first started really getting into home decorating, I was astonished by the number of choices I could make on any given day, both in a room I’m decorating and in the products to use therein. There are color schemes to be decided, style to choose (contemporary, traditional, transitional, or none of the above), fabrics and softgoods to find, furniture to rehab or buy…I could go on all day. So I love it when I am inspired by the creativity of the people who design the products I’m using.