Antique Floor Lamps
Antiques are sought for their mature beauty and the elegance
they bring to a room. The antique trend that exists in the
world of home design has even influenced floor lamps.
Manufacturers create designs to mimic the sometimes flowery
or ornate styles of antique furniture to provide fixtures to
match the various types of antique home décor.
Many of
these so-called antique lamps have a gilded base and ornate
cloth or stained-glass lampshades. Sometimes, the word
“antique” is used simply to describe a hue in the finish.
Antique brass is a popular finish in floor lamps. In truth,
these are simply reproduction lamps. True antique floor
lamps are much harder to find and are substantially more
expensive, depending on their history and design. In fact,
some French antique lamps sell at auctions for thousands of
dollars.
A
popular antique floor lamp restoration technique is to
replace the electrical workings with contemporary parts to
make these lamps safer and more functional. Converting a
vintage floor lamp into a halogen or a compressed
fluorescent floor lamp combines the benefits of modern
lighting technology with the beauty of antique design.
Antique
floor lamps are rarely chosen for their light – they really
are more aesthetic than functional. A vintage floor lamp
pleases the eye and accentuates much of the furniture around
it. Brass trim in a floor lamp’s base can call attention to
the brass handles of a nearby chest. The carved wood of a
maple floor lamp adds to a room’s warm tones and blends in
with the rest of the dark wood furniture.
A piece
of furniture can be effectively used in design, and floor
lamps are no different. Selecting an antique or a
reproduction floor lamp has the potential to bring the style
in a room together. Choose these lamps if you have lots of
brass detailing or a consistent theme of dark wood and warm
fabric tones in your furniture.
By Alison Cole |
