Thursday, August 28, 2008
We have two new Decorating Games on the website. One involves black crystal chandeliers and one shows various color palettes of The Rose in a single setting.

The black and white game is quite austere. No extraneous knickknacks or clutter. So you can clearly see the beauty of a white space with a black chandelier. If you love the feeling of lots of wide white space, you can achieve quite a dramatic effect playing with black against white.

I’m not sure whether the pattern on the rug and pillows is supposed to be zebra or white tiger, but the wavy black lines are very compatible with the curvaceous frame of Cappela. Then too, Hamilton makes a bold statement and looks just right for the room. But so does the sleek and subtle Jasmine. In fact I could make a case for choosing every crystal chandelier shown. So I’m glad I don’t have to make the very difficult decision of which black chandelier looks best in an exotic, black and white environment.

The Rose game was suggested by Eileen Schonbek Beer. She thought it would be interesting to show a few of the many color palettes available with this crystal chandelier. We found that the colors in the chandelier were so compelling that we had to change wall colors in some cases to complement the crystal and finish.

To turn this around, if you have a wall color you’re crazy about, you’ll have no trouble picking a Rose to work with it.

The Decorating Game is evocative of the process of designing a room. We generally consider many alternatives before our vision crystallizes. And it’s fun. At a deeper level, it might even be a search for self.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008
It’s amazing we have the courage to design a room at all, knowing how quickly trends come and go. Happily there are several defenses against the threat of fashion obsolescence.

First of all, you can incorporate classic elements in the space or design elements you’re working with. Nothing could be more classic, of course, than a crystal chandelier. So you go with the classic idea, but at the same time you migt play with its expression. A black crystal chandelier, for example, has the advantage of being both classic and updated. The black crystal is an unexpected element, yet a chandelier like black Hamilton is still indisputably a crystal chandelier. And black is always chic in any context and in any era.

Another good strategy is eclecticism. Mixing styles, colors and artwork from various periods always produces a totally original environment. By defying categorization you create your own style. And that’s not subject to the whims of fashion.

You can go really far with this by choosing a completely wild crystal chandelier from the Geometrix® collection. Or a space age Quantum crystal chandelier. With such a choice, you declare yourself to be a leader, not a follower, of fashion. Your design sense is so dramatic and forward thinking, you can safely ignore what colors are in or out this season.

Or you can resign yourself to redecorating every few years to refresh your space with new colors and accessories. Fortunately, a classic crystal chandelier can easily survive these upheavals. The same chandelier can look terrific with a bright or neutral or complex color palette, especially if you choose a style with clear crystal. Like La Scala. Or Olde World. Cut crystal by its very nature refracts and reflects all the colors in the room. The revitalized space simply infuses the chandelier with new energy. A classic crystal chandelier can have many lives.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008
We’re in the midst of taking lots more product shots of Quantum crystal chandeliers and pendants to illustrate all the colors and configurations.

I was amazed to realize that there are 44 different Quantum designs. This great variety makes it possible to get exactly the effect you’re looking for from your Quantum crystal chandelier (or pendants).

Only Schonbek would go to this much trouble to create a whole universe of opportunity around a design concept.

Quantum always feels symbolic to me. But I have no idea what it symbolizes, which makes it even more fun. If I had a room available for Quantum chandeliers, I’d want several of them in different sizes and shapes simply floating in space as exhibits of light and shape. This would make a great living room where people could just sit, relax, talk, sip tea or wine – and feast their eyes on indefinable brilliance.

Of course with a name like Quantum, this crystal chandelier suggests a quantum leap. And it is quite a leap from the classic idea of a crystal chandelier – candles glowing, arms heavily laden with elaborately cut crystal pendants, glittering chains of crystal octagons festooning the design – to a sharply simplified block or slab made of geometric crystal jewels.

Some people are nostalgic for the past; others just want to escape it. The latter may find just the statement they want to make in a Quantum crystal chandelier.