Friday Favorite: Handblown glass doorknobs, lighting & vases by Tracy Glover

Providence-based Tracy Glover, is a designer of handblown glass lighting and decorative accessories. Her studio, founded in 1992, produces a variety of lighting, door- and drawer knobs, and vases. I found her collection at this year’s ICFF show in New York City. Read More…

Forget the food, at Buddakan great lighting makes the meal

I spent a wonderful evening at Buddakan, an Asian fusion restuarant on 9th Avenue. The food was delicious. The evening was spectacular. Why? Well, first I was with some amazing friends. That aside, Buddakan’s designer did such an amazing job that I felt I had been transported to an Asian palace far away.

Before you start rolling your eyes, take a look at the photos (not so great, but they suffice I think). The incredibly tall ceilings are brilliant, but for me it was all about the lighting.

The use of tightly focused spots emphasized the height of the ceilings.

Large chandeliers, hung along the length of one enormous table, give the illusion of a different place and time. A ball at Versailles perhaps?

The touch of red was highlighted by more spots.

Floor lamps and candles on the table serve as task lighting -so you can read the menu. The layers of light give an overall look of drama and romance.

A large canvas, hung like a curtain behind the entrance counter is spotted. All around is mysterious darkness.

Buddakan is an enormous restaurant, with lots of rooms – each with its own sort of design. But they all work together. To find out more about the restaurant, visit their website by following this link.

Mood indigo: decorating inspiration in a blue hue

I thought you’d enjoy taking a look at interior design inspiration based on indigo, one of the most rare and expensive dyes in the ancient world. Deep blue hues seem to like living with turquoise and voilet.

The contrast it offers next to white is also perfection.

It all depends what mood you’re in. Here, the designer jumped across the color wheel to create a warm contrast.

Feeling dark and mysterious? Indigo is the way to go.Indigo will make the orange tones in wood pop.

Feeling uncommitted? You can paint your walls white and use indigo for accents. Some choices are: IKEA’s PS Collection African rug, Indigo toss pillows from Persnickety Home ($17.95), Ink Dish Tattoo dishware from Fitzsu ($82.00 for a 4-piece setting), & Crate & Barrel’s Lago Lamp ($129).

Maybe because it’s summer, I think white is looking really good next to indigo. But turquoise, and other jewel tones, are also beautiful. Agree?

images: Henry Bourne, William Waldron, Hanks Fonk

Lighting design ideas

Last month I discussed ways to place furniture into separate groupings in one large room. How do you light that space? In the olden days, each room had a ceiling fixture in the center of the ceiling. Add a few table lamps and that was that. Now, designers look at lighting as yet another layer of the overall design.

Here are some inspirational photos and a few tips to get you thinking about using light to change the look of your home.

Ambient Lighting

Let’s start at the beginning – ambient light. This provides general lighting so you don’t trip over the furniture. Recessed lighting and/or a ceiling fixture accomplish this.

However, you don’t have to space the recessed lights evenly throughout the room. Instead, take a look at your room and think about what you’d like to highlight. If you have two groups of seating, placing the recessed fixtures over those will provide ambient light, but more dramatically. Putting the lighting dimmers gives you the freedom the add to the drama.

Ambient lighting can also be placed in such a way that it makes the room appear larger.

Task lighting

We all understand this concept. Each room needs to be lit so that we have enough light to read, or work, etc… Use a recessed lights with a focused beam spread,. Pendant lamps are both decorative and functional. The key is to make sure you have enough light without glare.

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This or That: Martha Stewart v Crate & Barrel

Okay, which lamp woudl you rather own? They’re different takes on the ceramic table lamp.

On the left is Martha Stewart’s Milk Glass Lamp #9538. It’s made of glass, and has a silk Shantung shade. It’s available at Lumens where it sells for $279.50. Shipping is free.

On the right is Crate & Barrel’s Trudie Lamp. The base and shade are made of polyester with a hand-done cement finish. It sells for $149 plus shipping.

Which do you want by your bedside table? I like shape of the Trudie, but it seems over-priced for polyester. Am I wrong?