light it up

Okay, I know…I know…you’ve heard both my mom and I talk about multigenerational design. I don’t think it’s a formal interior design term, it’s just something that we call our aesthetic. It’s combining the old with the new, the past and the present, to create living spaces that tell your story. However, this concept goes beyond knick-knacks to all the elements of your home. As an example...the lighting selections in my mom’s house.

So the anchor of her lighting design is this awesome chandelier that was given to her by my grandparents years ago. It’s a french antique from the eighteenth century. She’s taken it from home to home, and it’s always the springboard for the other lighting fixtures. However, in this house she wanted to incorporate brass (it’s all the rage) so she balanced this solid iron piece with other fixtures that had elements of both iron and brass, transitioning to her bedroom sconces which are 100 percent brass and modern to boot. 

This transition evolves as you move through her home. You walk into the house and there it is, the gorgeous chandelier in all its glory. As you step into the hallway she’s used exposed bulb lighting which captures elements of the old and new. The bathrooms have fixtures with combined finishes, and even the guest bedroom’s antique chandelier (One of my mom’s first design purchases about 30 years ago) has touches of brass. So when you walk into their master. Ta-dah, you’ve transitioned from the past to the present, from iron to brass.

For me it’s a great lesson that all elements of your home can have layers...old stories and new stories to be had. So cheers to the new stories may they be full of laughter, love and of course… light… yes, lots of light!