Decorating with Tiffany Lamps

Louis Comfort Tiffany designed the first Tiffany lamp on his artistic whim. The son of legendary jewelry maker, Charles Lewis Tiffany, understood art in a different perspective than his father. He deviated a little from the family business and indulged in riot of colors and textures, when he took to designing lamps. It wasn't just a source of a light for him, but a canvas which brought out light in myriad shades.

To make these iconic lamps, he set up his own glass foundry. This allowed him to customize the glass with varying impurities to get the desired effect. These stained glass lamps are a rare sight today. However, if you happen to lay your hands on one or source one from somewhere, using it appropriately to melange it well with the rest of the decor is quite a challenge.

❖ Making maximum use of the iridescent light effect is of prime importance while decorating your home with Tiffany lamps. The gorgeous color schemes on the lampshades must complement your walls and the other interior decor.

❖ If you are decorating with Tiffany lamps you need to bring about a certain uniformity in the interior decor. If you are using more than one lamp, then stick to one shape or one design of the lampshade. Using various shapes and shades will make the interior look psychedelic.

❖ Narrow down on the usage of the lamps. For instance, decide whether you want to use the lampshade for reading purposes, overall lighting purposes or for just accentuating a corner of your house. In all the three cases the lighting effect is going to differ.

❖ If you are using the lampshade for overall lighting purposes, then ceiling lampshades would be a perfect idea. If your walls are in a shade of white, then any lampshade of any color will be just fine. However, remember that a lampshade with a darker shade will make the room dark. On the contrary, lighter shades such as pastels, will create a lighter light effect in the room. Thus, the light fixtures will also depend on the usage of room.

❖ The other advantage of decorating your home with Tiffany lamps, is that they serve as adornments during the day. As these lamps are a little old-fashioned, make sure that the rest of the furniture in your room complements the lampshades instead of being a stark contrast with.

❖ While decorating the outdoors with Tiffany lamps you are going to need plenty of lampshades or lampposts. Using just one lamp would serve no purpose.

❖ Preferably, use lighter lampshades, as they emit brighter light. Thus, post sunsets, your garden or backyard will remain well-lit. Darker lampshades will give out lesser light, thereby defeating the purpose of having lampshades in the first place.

❖ If you are using them for overall lighting purposes align them in a straight line. Walk an extra mile by matching the garden flowers with your lampshades. This way you can create a color theme too. But, see to it that you do not over use the color.

❖ Garden corners with sculptures and other such arrangements can be accentuated with just one light source. In such a case, use a hanging lampshade to bring attention to the decorated corner.

So those were a few answers for how to decorate with a Tiffany lamp. As these lampshades are furrowed, they easily get dirty. To make the most of the colorful light effects these lampshades emanate, clean them regularly with a damp cloth. Tiffany lampshades are a rare sight in times of modern minimalistic fixtures. So, add a dash of colors to with Tiffany lamps which will adorn you home with eye catchy designs.