Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, is a heartfelt celebratory occasion in the Hindu calendar when families and friends unite in the spirit of togetherness and pay respect to good fortunes, to health and to happiness. With social gatherings limited this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, many households will be celebrating Diwali on November 14 with virtual parties or small, intimate family gatherings at home. Here, we pay homage to the Festival of Lights with an expert guide to lighting that will not only help you create the perfect ambience for family get-togethers and virtual parties but will also guide you in setting the scene for happy memories to made at home and looked back upon with fondness during future Diwali festivals.
Read on for expert advice from Kapil Aidasani, Director of Casa Lusso, Dubai’s leading contemporary furniture boutique, providing an insightful guide on lighting and key decorating tips to help you light up your home in style.
Chandeliers: Make A Statement
Nothing makes a statement better than a dazzling, eye-catching sculptural chandelier overhead. This type of lighting is surprisingly flexible in terms of where you can showcase it in your home. Due to a chandelier’s propensity to carry with it a certain gravitas, it’s perfectly placed cascading down an open vaulted stairway, hanging centre stage in an entryway, or shining over a formal dining table. In an entryway, an exquisitely designed chandelier is a beautiful embellishment that can finish the room wonderfully, creating a grand entrance that welcomes guests with the kind of pizzazz and character that matches not just the style of your home but your personality, too.
In a dining room, position an elegant chandelier like Casa Lusso’s Maura or Tulip chandelier directly over a long dining table to complete the room. If you choose a gold or brass chandelier in this style, with hanging crystals or chains, lay the table with gold flatware, long-stemmed cut-crystal glasses and tall glass vases, and the décor will appear harmoniously balanced. A sparkling, beautifully-crafted chandelier will add a sense of luxury to a dining room. Fitted with dimmer switches, chandeliers like Maura or Tulip will add an inviting glow and set the scene for an intimate, festive family dinner to celebrate occasions like Diwali.
Pendant Lights: Highlight A Feature
Possibly one of the most versatile types of accent lighting, pendant lights (also known as a suspender or a drop light) suit most rooms and can be hung alone or in multiples. In an entryway over an occasional table or in a corner of a living room over an occasional chair, hang a statement pendant light like Casa Lusso’s Brey design; with its warm amber tones and Art Deco flair, this type of light needs no other accompaniment. Some pendants work well clustered in multiples and hung at varying levels, some higher, some lower. The different levels of height will draw the eye towards the pendants and the item they are spotlighting. Take the concept one step further with Casa Lusso’s Umage pendant lights, which are available in four varying, complementing shapes and designed in such a way so you can mix and match to create a confident lighting display.
In a kitchen, follow the rule of three and hang a trio of contemporary pendant lights over the kitchen counter either in a row and hung at the same level or at different heights, depending on your preference. Like moths to a flame, pendant lights over a central island will draw family members together around the island, highlighting it as a central gathering spot in what has become one of the most sociable rooms of the home. Pull up a stool and enjoy tea and sweet ladoos around the kitchen island, reminisce on the past year and celebrate the auspicious day of Diwali.
Table Lamps: Create A Cosy Glow
If you’re hosting a virtual Diwali party over Zoom this year, accent your living room with a pair of design-led table lamps that will frame your sofa and add enough light for the occasion while maintaining a cheerful glow. By day, stylish table lamps like Casa Lusso’s Marlow and Darcy are contemporary complements to your décor; by night, they create a cosy ambience similar to the comforting glow of candles or an open fire. While you can happily have a singular table lamp on a console table in a corner or by a chaise, in a similar way that bedside table lamps frame each side of a bed, in the living room you should place a table lamp on each side of a sofa on end tables. A pair of lamps positioned in this way will infuse the room with ample light without needing the overhead light on and exude the warm glow that evenings call for.
For formal dining rooms, if you have a long dining table with a console table behind it, style the console with a table lamp at each end of its countertop; this will frame the dining table in a suitably classic way, more so than if you had one lamp on the console. If you do opt for a singular table lamp, go for an oversized lamp with a round base or a sculptural base so it carries a sense of purpose and doesn’t look diminutive in the room.
Floor Lamps: Entertain In Style
For entertaining spaces and formal lounges used for social gatherings, add lighting that complements the theme of entertaining, like Casa Lusso’s Megan floor lamp, whose round marble features mimic the look of a minimalistic sound system. If your interior décor has a lot of angular shapes and corners, choose a style of floor lamp with rounded edges like Megan or Willow, as circular features will add the kind of soft, organic element that the room requires to alleviate the hard lines seen elsewhere.
While arc floor lamps, like Casa Lusso’s Aldine light, are expertly designed to shine the light on a sofa or chaise and are the perfect companion for a reading nook, entertaining spaces benefit from the flexibility of a vertical floor lamp, which can be placed in a number of spots. Try a design-led floor lamp adjacent to seating, flanking the bar or music station, or even on their own in a corner or by a panelled wall, creating a feature in their own right. We find that floor lamps with a mid-century-modern aesthetic to them are ideal for social spaces at home; having experienced a revival which has maintained its appeal with interior designers and design enthusiasts, such contemporarily-designed floor lamps showcase an eye for style and home fashion and can be quite the conversation piece.
This year, our homes have offered us sanctuary like never before. We hope you are inspired to make your home feel like the comforting haven it should be with carefully considered lighting that simultaneously illuminates focal points and features, adds a contemporary design accent, and casts a warm, inviting ambience in every corner and space. We wish you a safe and happy Diwali!
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