One of the most popular in the design of a modern home is the Art Nouveau style. It is a wide space, simplicity of forms, natural materials. To complete the design idea in such an interior, you need to choose the right lighting. In this article, we will consider what modern ceiling chandeliers are, how to choose and fix them correctly.
The origin of the Art Nouveau style
The translation of the word "modern" means "new" or "modern." A style with that name originated over a hundred years ago in Puritan England. This was due to the wide development of production after the industrial revolution - if earlier things of the classical style were accessible only to the upper class, now furniture and much more began to be produced on an expanded scale, which made them accessible to the masses. This, in turn, led to the appearance of new trends in the decor, since not everyone wanted to use the classic look of things. So there were new trends in interior design, and not only in England.
In French, the new direction was called "Art Nouveau", in Italian - "Liberty", translated "free." Art Nouveau allowed to introduce innovations of any kind into the design - even candles in candelabra were exchanged for light bulbs. And jewelry craftsmen participated in the production of some fixtures, decorating them with stained glass. This was the beginning of the creation of luxurious and unusual Art Nouveau lighting fixtures, ceiling chandeliers in this list took a leading position.
Style features
Each style has its own individual characteristics, which make it possible to distinguish it from others, even to lay people.
Features of Art Nouveau are as follows:
- Many elements of wood with a distinguished structure (oak, beech) or other - only natural - materials. The decorative coating of wooden parts must not obscure the fibers.
- Floors of different levels and free layout of rooms.
- Straight lines are completely absent. There are soft, not angular contours, with an imitation of the plant world, smoothly turning into each other. Dominates the vertical direction.
- An abundance of natural (animal or plant) simplified ornaments.
- The presence of stained-glass windows in the decor of the ceiling, doors, windows or ceiling lights, up to cheap pseudo-stained-glass windows, also with the presence of plant themes.
- Arched or display windows extending upward and framed by decor based on natural motifs.
- Arch-shaped double-wing doors with side windows decorated with stained-glass windows.
- Wide stairs with forged openwork railings.
Signs of Art Nouveau in interior lighting
Distinctive features of Art Nouveau lamps are simplicity and sophistication at the same time.
Huge ceiling chandeliers were replaced by lighter, more concise forms. They lost a lot of elaborate elements, replaced by wooden parts with scorched or cut out patterns.
The reduced amount of light due to the replacement of massive ceiling lights was partially offset by large doors and window openings. There is more natural light.
Another distinctive feature of auxiliary lamps and ceiling chandeliers in the Art Nouveau style is their shape, as well as decoration. Plafonds can be made in the form of flower buds, flowers, leaves or creepers. And the decoration also adopted plant elements with the addition of colored glass decor.
Later, colored shades or inserts into them came into fashion, which flooded the room with a certain light.
Mandatory laws on the placement of ceiling chandeliers are not established, in this the owners have the right to choose - arrange them at their discretion. With a lack of lighting, the use of additional light sources, for example, a sconce, is allowed. The only condition is that they must match the style of the main chandelier and the room.
Fixture design
Modern ceiling chandeliers perfectly emphasize the elegance of this style, decorating the surrounding space with their appearance.
Ceiling light sources have several design variations:
- Outboard. They can be either with one light bulb or contain up to eight shades located on the same platform. The base, as a rule, has the correct geometric shape, but there may be exceptions. Plafonds are made of crystal, glass or textile.
- Recessed or spot. They are used for zoning the space or creating a light accent. They are made of glass, metal, wood or gypsum. Modern LED ceiling chandeliers are widely used in creating modern design interiors.
- Overhead. Harmoniously fit into rooms with low ceilings. They can also be used to distinguish zones, but in terms of beauty they are significantly inferior to suspended structures.
- Ceiling. This type of design involves the direct installation of the product directly on the ceiling, installation is carried out using special fasteners. This group contains most of the chic options.
A special place in the design is occupied by Art Nouveau crystal ceiling chandeliers . Crystal gives the interior sophistication and chic. The luminaire can either be completely made of this material, or contain only additional elements in the form of pendants, giving amazing luster and overflow. In case of a lack of funds, it is possible to purchase options from glass imitating crystal. In any case, such an element of the interior will become its highlight.
Types of Art Nouveau lamps
Before choosing the optimal model of a ceiling chandelier in the Art Nouveau style for a room, you should know that there are several types of such devices that are used for different purposes:
- The main ones - floor lamps, LED lamps, sconces, and also ceiling chandeliers belong to this group. These devices allow you to divide the room into zones.
- Targeted - they are used to highlight any specific area in a room or interior object (paintings, figurines, etc.). Great for emphasizing the dining area.
- Background - distinguished by diffused calm light that does not create bright differences. Most often, LED models are used for these purposes.
A characteristic feature of a stylish design is the presence in the same room of several lamps for various purposes, but necessarily combined with each other in appearance.
Varieties of Ceiling Chandeliers
Today, manufacturers offer an unimaginable array of varieties of ceiling chandeliers. This is due to the fact that their modern appearance is often a soft combination with other styles. Such lamps can be used both in the modern style and in high-tech or loft.
The most common models are:
- Ceiling lights with 5-8 glass shades with not very bright lamps. The shape of the ceiling varies from floral motifs to geometric motifs. As a rule, they are attached to the ceiling on a long leg or suspension.
- Chandeliers with stucco moldings. They are ideal for ceilings finished in the same way.
- Suspended ceiling lights are metal structures hung with glass or crystal elements.
- Lamps having one large glass or textile shade of a hemispherical or cylindrical shape. In the case of textiles, you need to correctly design the surrounding space.
- Original ceiling light sources that do not belong to any of the groups. They have bizarre geometric or abstract shapes, repeat the shape of the bodies of animals or marine mammals - they look extravagant and fit into the interior of the corresponding style.
Kitchen lighting
The kitchen is perhaps the most important room in the apartment, so every housewife wants it to look perfect. An important role in this is lighting.
To choose it correctly, you need to observe some points - this also applies to the modern style:
- Ceiling chandeliers to a kitchen of this design can consist of several plafonds (in this case they are located above the dining area and the working one) or one (several lamps are evenly distributed throughout the ceiling). Suspension at different levels is allowed.
- In a small room, as a rule, one chandelier is used with bright lighting in the middle of the ceiling - in this case, a uniform light flux will reach all corners of the kitchen.
- If the central part of the ceiling area is designed so that the lamp cannot be installed on it, the appliances are suspended on the wall separately above the dining area and above the working area.
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that the Art Nouveau style requires natural lighting - light bulbs in lamps should be selected in warm colors.
In addition, when choosing a fixture, you need to consider that the kitchen is a specific room and the appliances in it must meet the requirements of resistance to moisture, ease of maintenance, wear resistance, good lighting.
Lamps in the bedroom
These devices are the best match with the interior of the bedroom, emphasizing comfort and peace. When installing a ceiling chandelier in a modern bedroom, you should adhere to several rules:
- lines of form should be smooth and unobtrusive;
- in the nursery, you should choose lamps of the appropriate subject - decoration in the form of flowers, birds, bees or cartoon characters;
- if the room is pasted over with wallpapers of bright colors, then the lamp should be chosen, on the contrary, with calm, unusual shapes and light colors;
- if the walls are of a light shade, then the bright openwork lamp in the style of the general interior solution will perfectly cope with the decoration of the bedroom.
Lighting for other rooms
Design designs of modern ceiling chandeliers allow you to place them in any room - you just need to take into account the characteristics of each.
Here are a few tips:
- In the bathroom, it is best to install appliances with LED lamps designed for rooms with high humidity. In addition, they should be small in size and with good luminous flux.
- For the living room there is a huge selection of fixtures for every taste - from exquisite lamps for chic interiors to simple forms. This is a source of comfort and coziness. For this room, cylindrical, spherical or plafonds of regular geometric shapes are better suited. Moreover, on the base, they can be located either symmetrically or in a circle, or in a chaotic direction. A chandelier on a small leg will make the low room visually higher.
- Standard corridors, as a rule, are compact in size, therefore, Art Nouveau ceiling chandeliers are installed in the hallway with bright LED lamps or overhead ceiling structures of small sizes.
Hook fitting
Installation of a ceiling lamp will not require much work, but some subtleties should still be known.
Large heavy chandeliers of glass, crystal or metal are mounted on a special metal hook firmly embedded in the ceiling. This is a very reliable mount that will not allow the light to fall to the floor. As a rule, the installation site is covered with a decorative cap in the case of a chandelier on the leg or hidden by the base of the lamp. The main thing in this process is to correctly wire the wires and connect the switches. This type of connection is used for the installation of ceiling chandeliers in modern living rooms.
Most often, a special hook is already present in the ceiling. In this case, the device is simply suspended from it and connected.
But often there are situations when the owners transfer the location of the device, then the hook has to be built in independently.
Depending on the type of surface, different hooks may be needed - with dowels, spring or anchor. A hole is made in the right place of the ceiling, a hook is placed in it and is well sealed with cement mortar. After drying the last hook is ready to use.
It is only necessary to take into account that in this case the transfer of wiring is inevitable, which must be performed by an electricity specialist.
Mounting pendant and recessed fixtures
Most of the Art Nouveau lighting fixtures have a lightweight design, so they are mounted on special metal strips with holes made. They are attached to the ceiling with dowels after appropriate marking. After that, the wires from the chandelier are connected to the common wiring. At the last stage, the trims located on the lamp are bolted to the plate on the ceiling.
If you are using a chandelier with wooden or textile elements, you need to measure the degree of their heating, as well as insulate the wires well.
Another lighting option is the installation of spotlights. Step by step it looks like this:
- a gateway of the required size is cut out at the base;
- wires are output to the resulting hole and connected to the lamp;
- Using mounting springs, the device is mounted in place.
Currently, you can notice that the Art Nouveau interiors, like the lamps used to design them, are relevant now. A wide variety of lighting models will allow you to easily create the required environment.