LIGHTING TRENDS
Sculptural lighting popular this year
A key design feature that not only sets the tone of a space and highlights important features in it but also is a decorative element in its own right, lighting can determine whether a space feels right or not.
“Let’s put it simply: lighting can make or break a room. It’s the key element in any room,” said Jean-Michel Gadoua, the creative director and store manager at Celadon, a high-end furnishings and lighting showroom on Peel Street in Griffintown. “That’s because lighting often acts as a bridge between the interior architecture and the furnishings of a home.”
A combination of factors — including the style, size and colour of a light fixture, as well as how the light itself is positioned — all contribute to the dramatic effect that lighting can have on the atmosphere of a space, as well as its perceived size.
“Proper lighting is both functional and esthetic, and creates different moods,” said Rebecca Mitchell, an interior designer and the principal designer behind Rebecca Mitchell Interiors. “Basically, by illuminating all the corners and ceilings, the space expands visually.”
Because of its importance, changing a home’s lighting is one of the easiest ways to transform it — and if this year’s lighting trends are any indication, the future is looking bright.
“Both industrial and mid-century-inspired pieces are extremely popular in terms of not only lighting, but also furniture,” Mitchell said. “There’s a huge selection of both styles, and they’re more affordable than ever. It’s an easy way to give a loft look to a condo. We use them over kitchen islands and in dining rooms to add a lot of personality to the space. And they look great with the ever popular industrial counter stool.”
According to Gadoua, what’s most popular at Celadon this year is sculptural lighting, or lighting that doubles as art.
“Sculptural, asymmetrical, and geometric or Memphis-inspired shapes are very popular for table lamps,” he said. “For chandeliers, anything with branches or that’s very sculptural is selling a lot.”
Other trends include fixtures with Moroccan-inspired shapes as well as Scandinavian-inspired minimalist pendant lighting made of a mixture of wood, metal, concrete and resin. “Lighting that integrates marble and alabaster in its conception is very popular as well,” Gadoua added.
When it comes to finishes, some of the strongest trends for 2018 mimic what’s popular in furniture design, including a variety of warm metals like gold, brass and oil-rubbed bronze (ORB) as well as black iron, nickel and chrome.
“I would say that ORB and black iron are quite popular these days,” Mitchell said. “We see a lot in both industrial and rustic lighting. Gold is quite popular, too, and we see it in mid-century lighting. Warm silver and pewter are also used for vintage-inspired lighting — or when the design doesn’t want to commit to either silver or gold. They also look very pretty with glass, so are lovely as chandeliers.”
As for chrome, it looks best in contemporary spaces as well as the bathroom, along with polished nickel, said Gadoua, who also noted that “more and more matte painted finishes such as black and white and bright colours are being used in lighting.”
Size-wise, what’s trending these days are larger fixtures, as they make more of a statement than smaller ones.
“Oversized pendants are definitely very in right now,” Mitchell said. “Rather than four or five smaller pendants you might see three huge pendants instead.”
Technology has had a major impact on lighting trends in recent years and LED lights continue to be a popular choice for consumers due to their energy-saving properties. For designers, though, they ’re the bulb of choice for an entirely other reason.
“LED has revolutionized lighting in general. The bulbs are so small and so flat that industrial designers have a lot more freedom when they create a piece,” Gadoua said. “We’ve started to see designs that were just impossible to make before.
“I seriously think that we are entering the golden age of lighting, in great part because of this advancement in technology.”
While the main complaint about LED lighting used to be the cold hue that it cast, it’s now more advanced — and available in a spectrum of colours.
“LED has warmer, yellower and more natural options now, not the bright white/blue light that was first available,” Mitchell said.
“Edison bulbs are definitely popular, too, especially with industrial style lighting.”
Modern Edison light bulbs, which have been trending for the past few years, are made to replicate old-fashioned light bulbs and their light-emitting filaments, but are more energy efficient and produce less heat.