“Classic” no longer means Greco-Roman designs. It no longer means old-style. We’re talking a modern classic, the integration of traditional and modern. It could mean a union of fabrics, finishes, and furniture to create or recall something timeless.
That can be a difficult call in contemporary interior design. The contemporary classic may marry elements from, but it must avoid the merely trendy in favor of the sophistication of the uncluttered, the simple, and the sensible.
Classic and sophisticated interior design is marked by staying power, somehow fresh and fitting yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Designing from the top down
Most designers work from the floor up. They select a floor treatment and rug, and they work their way up placing treating walls, placing furniture, and adding fabric and accents before they think about ceiling lighting.
But, if you think how more likely you are to change individual pieces, you are more likely to stick with your ceiling fixture. So, it makes sense to choose a chandelier or pendant that completes the room’s classic and sophisticated vibe.
Consider the style and materials in the Fairmont light fixture. The delicately curved glass arms offer an elegant ambiance, an inviting sophisticated touch in a high-ceilinged master bedroom. Classic and luxurious in the design worlds it recalls yet stripped of crystals and teardrops, the Fairmont reorders the bedroom design engaging and holding your attention as the design center.
It brings an antique sensibility and curiosity without frills or busyness. It has a functional shape in ribbed glass and slightly engraved chrome base with each of its eight arms rising from its glass bowl and topped with a small and perfectly proportioned white shade.
Unpretentious for all its classic sophistication, the Fairmont will center the room without overpowering it. Scaled and proportioned, it belongs to the room. Its simplicity also drives the selection of other pieces that favor the streamlined and balanced, classic, cozy, and contemporary.
The Maddox light fixture does the same in a different way. Study it closely, and you will see the same ribbed Murano glass curving up and out of a central glass housing, this time with 11 arms. But, the graceful arms are thinner and end in their simple linen shades. The Maddox also hangs closer to the ceiling and wider than the Fairmont.
The dark browns refract through the glass to complement and contrast other light and dark patterns and textures in the room. This traditional lamp with glass arcs and minimalist shades adds charm and class to modern interior decoration. Somehow calming and timeless in effect, the Maddox creates a central focus for choosing the rest of the room’s design elements.Basically, the classic and sophisticated in lighting design is graceful and stylish, an attractive and mature quality that remains inviting and approachable.