Bright ideas for a cloudy day

With an airy and geometric frame, this fixture
looks more like a sculpture than a light source.
Photo: West Elm.

The weather might be dull, but inside it's sure luminous! Lighting is enjoying a revival today as one of the key ways to set a room's style and boost its personality. 

For contemporary lighting, the trend continues to be "less is more".

Geometric shapes are in focus, making many fixtures look more like sculptures than light sources.

The pared-back industrial style is also still making strides, featuring fixtures with little more than a bulb and a wire. Simple and efficient.

Too simple, you might say?

But easy is good, especially if you're into DIY. And DIY is great if you're on a budget but still want high style. 

 

Ready to challenge your creativity? Below are links to three awesome lighting projects to try on a cloudy day. As always when it comes to electrical work, leave the final installation to a certified electrician. Here we go:
 

1) These fashion-forward fixtures are made of drinking straws, pipe cleaners, spray paint, cord and light socket. You get the idea just by looking at the pictures of the site.

http://blogg.skonahem.com/mormorsglamour/gor-en-lampskarm-av-sugror/.

 

 



 











 

 

2) To complete the Lindsay Adelman's Hanging Pendant above, you buy a complete kit here ($57) and follow the instructions. Lindsay Adelman's DIY projects also include a chandelier, mobile, desk lamp and sconce. Photo: Remodelista. Here are the parts for the Hanging Pendant kit:

 



3) Finally, here's a link to making an industrial pipe floor lamp (below).

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.ca/2014/04/how-to-make-industrial-pipe-floor-lamp.html. Make sure to read all the comments regarding enhancing the safety of this lamp.