Tiffany Lamps Shine On

Not everything from Tiffany’s comes in a little blue box tied up with a pretty ribbon. Granted, some of the most beautiful gifts do come wrapped that way: diamond rings, necklaces, watches, bracelets. And we all love those little blue boxes.

One of the most distinctive and larger, coveted Tiffany items is just too big for a little blue box. Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany in 1896, the famous, original stained-glass lamps are now antiques. Recognized for their stained glass shades soldered together with copper foil, these lamps are extremely valuable and expensive--ranging into the thousands of dollars. The design was exquisite.

His original lamps were cast in bronze in an Art Nouveau style and incorporated stained glass leaded shades, colored brilliantly. Original motifs ranged from abstract Art nouveau to American Indian, Egyptian and my favorites, dragonflies, flowers and plants.

Fortunately for modern day decorators these types of lamps are now available in reproductions or Tiffany–style designs.

In choosing a Tiffany-style lamp (often used in Arts and Crafts décor-but certainly can be used in any room) size, brightness and style are very important. Any type of home lighting should be purchased with this idea in mind, but especially Tiffany-style lamps because they provide light and ornament the room at the same time.

A table lamp should have the right proportions so the lampshade does not overlap the edges of the table. Nor should the lamp be too small for the top of the table.

A floor lamp or torchiere should be placed in an area of the room where there is little danger of it falling over and damaging the beautiful glass shade.

Today, there are numerous styles of these lamps being produced: including Mission, Retro ,Art Deco, Arts and Crafts, Country and Victorian.They can also be found in every type of finish and shade, including glass, porcelain, and brushed metal.

Some of the very unique styles and stylish decorative pieces that will tie a room together include: house accents

such as the intricate Dragonfly and unique Wisteria designs in table lighting and stunning yellow Sunflowers and beautifully formed Peacock Feather shades in floor lamps.

All of these can be found for under $200.