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Cropped of a unique chandelier made of twisted steel and cooper with small lights on the ends.

The ultimate guide to choosing lighting for your home

Sharing my favourite internet finds to add that wow factor to your home.

For those of you that have followed me on Instagram for a while, you’ll know I have a thing for stunning lighting.

To the point I have no more rooms left in our house to add any beautiful new editions, which is one of the reasons I decided to offer a Personal Shopping service for my clients.

The opportunity to research the many wonderful lighting brands which are available and share my recommendations, whilst being paid for the pleasure of offering this service, is an added bonus!

My love for slightly quirky, yet incredibly beautiful lighting all started just before we moved to The Netherlands, when I purchased our first “wow” factor light.

A leather-bound floor lamp from an interiors shop in the market town of Beccles.

Corner of lounge with a tall, abstract lamp and a stained glass window. The lamp is made of brown leather and has a bulb at the top and bottom. It is curved and leans towards the window. The window is made of different colours and shapes of stained glass. The colours are mostly pink, purple, and brown.

My first purchase which represents style with function

From seeing it in store I fell in love with the unusual sculptural frame and loved the dual-function of style meets function; which is an ethos I follow with as many of my design choices as possible, having a piece of furniture (or accessories) which represents a piece of art, yet has a functional purpose.

I remember one of my clients messaging how she loved the way I combined style with function.

Your home is like an art gallery, full of unique pieces of art that serve a practical purpose.

Until that point I’d never really thought about our home like that, then looked around and realised my sub-conscious design choices were to combine pieces of furniture which were functional yet stylish; from our dining table, to the coffee table and my beautiful Charles Eames chair (a replica I hasten to add), and of course our light choices!

A modern living room with a fireplace and a wooden accent wall. The room has a wooden floor and a grey corner sofa with a throw and pillows. There is a white armchair with a wooden back and a coffee table with black legs and a glass top in front of the sofa. The fireplace is white and built into the wooden accent wall. There is a brown and white abstract painting hanging above the sofa.

My personal design taste

Anyhow, I’ve digressed and todays post is to share a selection of my favourite internet finds which I hope you will love as much as me and you may even be inspired to add into your own home.

When we moved to The Netherlands in 2011, I really did have my eyes opened to the true beauty of functional, stylish interior design.

European product design was just on another level to what I’d been used to in the UK.

We were living in the centre of Den Haag (The Hague), very close to one of the most unique shopping areas in the city, Noordeinde, renowned for its unique interior design shops and galleries.

We used to spend many a weekend wondering round these stores, and when we made the decision to move back to the UK we decided to purchase some pieces to bring home with us.

It was also a lovely way to bring a bit of “Holland” home with us, after living in The Netherlands for five years.

Now, the situation was this; transfer the money we’d been making during our time in The Netherlands back into sterling and loose a shit load on exchange rates, or use this money to buy some beautiful pieces of furniture for our home, and you can guess what option we went for!

One of those pieces was our statement lighting pendant for the dining room (alongside the dining table and chairs).

Feature light pendant position above a modern walnut dining table

Our Dutch dining room

You know that feeling when you see something and instantly know that’s the one!

This is the exact feeling I had when I saw this light pendant.

It was love at first sight, I didn’t care what the price tag said I needed this light in my life.

I loved the intricacy of the twisted copper combined with the wrought iron and it’s the perfect feature in our dining room.

Rather than rushing straight in, we did leave it a couple of days before making the all important purchase and I couldn’t be happier.

I always suggest to clients when it comes to making an expensive purchase to sleep on it for at least 24 hours before making a final decision.

Never be made to feel you have to make a pressured purchase.

If there is any element of doubt, the chances are it’s not the right piece for you to be purchasing.

However, if you can’t stop thinking about it, and still have that excited feeling a day or two later, it’s safe to say it’s the right decision and worth the investment.

So, now I’ll get on with sharing my selection of internet finds, I hope you enjoy my selections:

Tom Raffield:
My all time favourite Tom Raffield, sustainably handcrafted in Cornwall, UK.
An incredible selection of truly beautiful lighting using wood which is steam bent into the most stunning organic designs.
My favourite being the Skipper pendant, which I’m very lucky to have in my office.

Tom Raffield Skipper pendant

In pride of place my Tom Raffield Skipper light pendant

Rockett St George:
If you want to add a quirky vibe to your home you can’t go too far wrong with Rockett St George.

I’ve hand-picked a selection of lights from their new lighting range, which I think you’ll like:




Pooky Lights:
Looking for beautiful, yet affordable lighting?

You can’t go wrong with Pooky Lights, offering a vast range of lighting to suit everyone’s taste.


Pooky Serena Woven Palm Basket Pendant

Serena Woven Palm Basket Pendant: £76


Pooky Oldfield Chandelier

Oldfield Chandelier: £1,310


Pooky Tom Chandelier

Tom Chandelier: £450

Industville:
If stylish, industrial inspired lighting is your thing then Industville is the ideal brand to consider. With a new range recently launched, I’ve selected my four favourites.



 

Atkin and Thyme:
Offering a variety of classic contemporary, industrial and mid-century modern lighting for your home. Atkin and Thyme offers a fabulous range of lighting at great prices.




Soho Home:
The crème de La crème for homewares, Soho Home offers a stunning collection to truly add the personal touch to your home, and there are so many fabulous new additions that have been added to their lighting range.

Below are just a few of my favourites.

Soho Home Hayes Chandelier

Hayes Chandelier: £846 (members price)


Soho Home Kai Chandelier

Kai Chandelier: £1,101 (members price)



Hopefully this has given you some ideas of what’s available currently in the marketplace and there may even be something that has taken your fancy.

If you need any assistance on how to add a personal touch to your home, feel free to book in for a consultation and arrange a chat.

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