Newest designs in light fixtures feature a clean, yet colorful look

Clean, sleek, simple designs. Forget the brushed nickel finishes and the ornate renderings of the past few years. If you are going to buy a lamp or other light fixture, it's likely to be straightforward.

That's not to say that homeowners and renters should expect to find ultra modern, bizarre shapes and designs, although plenty of unique ones do exist. Rather, lighting design has gone back to basics without a lot of fancy accoutrements embellishing shades, bases, and everything in between.

"We here in the U.S. tend to follow what is going on in Europe, particularly in Italy and Germany, and sometimes in Spain," said Benson Littman, co-owner of Littman Brothers Lighting Co., which has multiple locations in the Chicago area "European designs are turning away from the very ornate, back to clean lines with different finishes. Bronze and pewter are now very popular and there's a hundred different colors in those."

Think multipurpose fixtures, too. Although some have single-purpose uses such as for bathrooms or outdoors, table and floor lamps as well as many pendant fixtures can be used in diverse areas of a home, from bedroom to kitchen to family room.

"Lighting is versatile these days," said Darci Carlino, branch manager of Idlewood Electric Co. in Barrington. "It's not what mom and dad were picking out. You can even have a chandelier over the master bath."

One aspect of lighting that has changed dramatically over the past few years is the emergence of light emitting diode bulbs, commonly known as LEDs. You have seen them in everything from Christmas lights to the numbers on your clock. Larger LED bulbs have been expensive, however, and until recently have emitted harsh white light. Both are changing.

"For example, an incandescent recessed-can bulb typically costs $3 to $4, whereas it's $120 for an LED," Littman said. "That's daunting, but it pays for itself within two years. Once manufacturers get the price down to where it's competitive, LEDs will really take off."

At the moment, the most popular uses for LEDs are recessed ceiling lights and under-the-cabinet, or task lighting, anywhere that people need good light to see what they are doing. Carlino indicated under-the-cabinet LED lighting costs approximately $25 to $45 per lineal foot.

A huge advantage of LEDs is that once you purchase them, you virtually don't have to replace them because they have such long lives. Manufacturers of some of the newer bulbs are claiming lifetimes of 50,000 hours for their products. Combine this with the fact that they use little wattage while burning and you have a win-win situation - once you get beyond the price, that is.

CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) haven't caught on in the Midwest as much as they have on the west coast where restrictions regarding light pollution are stricter. Drawbacks include delay in reaching full intensity and the inability to dim the output once the bulbs are on.

Another popular and green alternative are halogen bulbs. This lighting method has been popular, noted Littman, because of its small design, allowing intricate and versatile fixtures to be designed around the bulbs.

As far as shape goes, fixtures with drum-style shades or shapes are the rage at the moment. This holds true for table lamps as well as pendant fixtures, even some chandeliers. Shades these days are not the typical white or off-white that have been popular for eons. Instead, think matching fabric to your décor.

"We've been using drum shades with silk for a more formal setting to canvas for a more casual design," said Adele Lampert of Page One Interiors in Barrington. "We will sometimes use fabric shade made to match with a subtle contemporary fabric like a French toile. Mostly, we will add flat tape around the brim or a beaded trim for a custom look."

Lampert added that metal and glass lamp bases remain popular but that general design is heading toward a sleeker look.

Don't forget floor lamps. These, particularly torchieres, are a quick and easy way to provide light to an entire room that may not have wiring for an overhead light fixture.

Shades are another area where the green movement has made an impact. Some manufacturers are making shades out of organic materials such as grass cloth and wicker. Fixtures with fabric shades are appearing everywhere in home, over kitchen islands, tables, master baths, dining rooms, etc. Carlino noted that these are usually placed where there is some extra height.

"You can see through these (fabric shades) so they tend to appear larger than they really are," she said. "When selecting one of these, go down a size."

Crystal chandeliers continue to remain popular. One of the trends Carlino expects to see is the development of more colored crystals.

"Schonbek has joined together in a partnership with Swarovski Crystal," Carlino said. "Once people become aware of this I think we will see many different colors being used in chandeliers."

Not to be outdone is how glass is now treated in lighting fixtures. One of the most popular items in Littman Brothers stores is the small Murano Glass pendant fixtures, which range in price from $150 to $400. Most are under a foot in height and less than six inches in width.

"This is the kind of stuff that people literally eat up," Littman said. "They are used almost exclusively over kitchen islands."

While the Murano Glass creations feature a lot of bright colors, the general treatment of glass knows no bounds. The more unique tend to appear in pendants or chandeliers.

"Every year the bar is raised," Littman said. "There is no such thing as a normal treatment of glass."

For the ceiling fan market, it's now all about style and price point as the low end manufacturers have come up in quality while the high end ones aren't as exclusive as they once were. The most remarkable quality is that the design of the fan has now been fully integrated into the light fixture itself. Littman likened these to light fixtures with the blades off.

Although the economy has forced people to spend less money, that doesn't mean they are looking for inferior quality. Rather, they are buying less, only purchasing one or two fixtures at a time instead of replacing lighting in an entire home or group of rooms.

"We always catch people at the back end of what they're doing," Littman said. "Lighting is always bought last."

Because of that, lighting is not allocated the same considerations in budgeting that other elements of rehabbing projects entertain. Yet, changing a light fixture is one of the quickest, easiest and, in many respects, one of the most inexpensive ways to update your home. Two particularly quick fixes are bathrooms and exterior lighting. For the former, buyers usually match a new lighting fixture to the finish on faucets. For outside, an updated fixture will ultimately enhance a home's curb appeal and ultimately increase its market value.

Oddly enough while more money is often spent on wall treatments, curtains, furniture and the like, it's often a light fixture that gets a lot of comments from visitors.

"Maybe it's because it's the only thing hanging suspended from the ceiling, but your eye goes right to it," Littman said. "Buy the right light fixture and it will be the most talked about thing in your home."