Love This #66: Original BTC British Lighting Manufacturers

April 6, 2016

When I was at the London Design Centre recently there was one shop that I was always going to visit, and that was Original BTC. I have some of their Beadlight wall lights in the Conservatory - and while they're not cheap - they are, I think a timeless classic. And I love this photo I captured of the range in the showroom.

But let's see more of their lights, because there's plenty more to see. These grouped pendants looked great. I like that their light is directed down but have yet to find where I could put them in our house.

These wall lights were slightly more unusual as they were displayed in what you could only call uplights, they are in fact portable lights.

The Chester spotlights reminded me of spotlights from my youth so I think it's fair to say they have a retro feel. The copper trend is still big in home furnishings - it was evident too at the Ideal Home Show, which I went along to at the weekend - but I'm still not sure. The Walter table lamp was close to convincing me though, with its smoky glass.

I spent a while in the bulkhead section because we're tempted to change our dining room light, and if we do something like this is high on our list. The problem is we still like the light we have above our table, it still works perfectly well and even though it's not as modern as these with its brushed chrome finish it's not old-fashioned either. The other concern we have is the amount of light we'd get out of one of these kinds of light, I think when we get closer to a decision we'd need to do some research and take advice on this.

But in the meantime I can still admire them!

The other lights that caught my eye were these pastel green table lamps. I'm not usually one for pastel colours but I could quite happily find a home for these - well, if we weren't already maxxed out on table lamps, that is!

They matched perfectly the display of Branksome China, another UK manufacturer based in Stoke-on-Trent. They're not a brand I've seen before but they're one I'll be looking at again I'm sure.

Gorgeous aren't they?

Statement lights by lampcommerce

March 24, 2016

When Lampcommerce got in touch I was immediately struck by the stunning designs featured on their site. This one in particular from the Wireflow collection by Vibia caught my eye:

VIBIA WIREFLOW Photo credit: LampCommerce

It has a simple, classic but somehow futuristic feel to it. It's a tall light though with a drop of two metres and would need the right space to show it off to its best. Just imagine it in the perfect stairwell, it'd certainly create a stunning entry to any property. I'm not the only one that thinks that as it won the award for best hanging lamp of 2014 from Interior Design Magazine.

When I thought more about statement lights, the one at the V&A immediately sprung to mind. Their 'Rotunda Chandelier' sculpture hangs in a fantastic space, above the Information Desk as you enter the museum. And while it's a sculpture rather than a light, it's effect is similar.

For me - the attraction to the wireflow light - is about the lines it creates. Just look at the ceiling in the image above - I know that if I were to be sitting in the hallway with that light, I'd be able to sit and lose hours just tracing and following the lines with my eyes. I guess that's a whole new way of being more mindful.

It does remind me of the lights I saw in the Gap House at the Ideal Home Show last April, and that proves to me that if you have a small space - the whole house was just three metres wide - then you can still be adventurous with lighting.

But finally having ruled it out for this house - we have a spiral staircase, so it wouldn't work for us I soon browsed the site further and discovered the Artemide Tolomeo range.

ARTEMIDE TOLOMEO MEGA FLOOR LAMP Photo credit: LampCommerce

The possibilities for this range are endless - from floor lamps like the one above through to the mini desk lamps below, with sizes in between too. They are, for me a design classic and I was surprised to learn that it was designed as recently as 1986, winning the Compasso d'Oro design prize in 1989. I know that that's thirty years ago now, but well the eighties still seems relatively recent to me, it was the decade I started work, so that I think brings an extra touch of reality!

ARTEMIDE TOLOMEO MINI TABLE LAMP Photo credit: LampCommerce

If you're looking for something that's stylish and colourful, then the Tolomeo micro table lamps come in a range of fun colours - including metallics, such as bronze and rainbow colours - which would brighten any space, whatever the look you were after.

I think most homes in the eighties and beyond have owned a light similar to this - I know when we moved in here MOH moved in with a large black table lamp, which at the time we didn't have the space for. Now though, it's one of the things that would fit right into our current decor, so perhaps we should have hung onto it after all.

...Or perhaps it's time to treat ourselves to a replacement!

This is a collaborative post but all opinions are my own

Let's talk spotlights...

February 23, 2016

We have a lot of spotlights in our home. 41 in fact.

I told you it was a lot. It's not as bad as it seems though, as the 41 are split between our main living room, kitchen, master bedroom, two bathrooms and my craft room (which MOH still refers to as our study).

Most of them - thirty - are halogen spotlights, but the newer ones - just eleven - are LED spotlights and it's easy to tell the difference. Even for a novice spotlight spotter like me, and yes, you can still be a novice spotlight spotter with over forty in the house.

Halogen or LED?

See - the LED spotlights on the right, are easy to identify.

Halogen

It's likely that older (but not ancient) spotlights are halogen. When we bought our house in 2002 one of the first jobs we did was to have the whole house rewired and the spotlights fitted. At that time halogen spotlights were the thing and they've served us well.

Most of our halogen spotlights, but not all, are fitted with dimmer switches which I personally think helps their life time. Typically a halogen light would have a 2000 hour life time, and I assume this is calculated for a maximum output. I prefer a much lower level of lighting and MOH and I regularly have "discussions" about what's too bright and what's too dim, but that's a whole 'nother blog post (if I'm feeling brave enough)!

But it means we've rarely changed a bulb in all that time, and despite what MOH may tell you we don't sit in the dark.

LED

Our newer spotlights, like these from LED Hut, are LED spotlights. We have them as downlighters to our new wardrobes in our bedroom and under-cupboard downlights in our kitchen. LED spotlights are environmentally friendly and the latest form of low energy light bulbs and easily distinguishable by their almost bobbly texture. The light too is different, some people say it's more natural looking I'd describe their light as whiter. By comparison research suggests their life time can be as much as 40,000 hours which clearly makes them extremely durable and cost efficient.

So will we swap our halogens?

In reality we won't be swapping them over wholesale until we think about changing how we light a room. But if we are adding new spotlights then, as we've already done we'll look at the newer and more efficient LED spotlights, which makes a lot of sense to me. Don't you think?

Do you have spotlights, which sort do you have?

PS MOH has just told me that we have another six "star lights" to add to that total of 41, so I stand corrected. We have 47!

This is a collaborative post with LED Hut, but all opinions and words are my own.