ASK THE EXPERTS
Lighting
I bought a card globe pendant lampshade from Habitat about 4-5 years ago. Habitat no longer stock the product. Is there another company that does a similar product?
Geoffrey Harris has an excellent range of smart yet simple lighting including design classics of the 50s and 60s.Pictured is the Bubble Lamp – Ball designed by George Nelson.
I was wondering if you could tell me where I could get a nice selection of coloured silk cord for some lamps that I would like to get rewired?
Period Features supplies antique gold or brown three-core electrical cable (£5.50 a metre, and shown here) and Jim Lawrence has braided cable in black, brown, burgundy and green priced at 9p per cm.
Where can I find lighting with a pineapple motif?
Richard Taylor Designs supplies lighting to designers and architects worldwide. His website shows many of his designs (all available in a variety of finishes) including this stunning nine-arm pineapple chandelier.
I am looking for chic African-type wall lights which either look like African masks or just go well with an African-style sitting area and cloakroom.
Consider the following wall lights which might enhance an African-style decor:
Soane’s Tiger Paw Wall Light www.soane.co.uk.
Cheetah Designs’ Tableau Algues www.cheetahdesign.net.
Vaughan’s Touzac Gilt & Horn www.vaughandesigns.com.
You could also select a wall light such as the Twig from Vaughan and pair it with a guinea fowl, partridge or pheasant feather shade from Joanna Wallis www.joannawallis.co.uk.
If you should find masks you might wish to convert to wall lights, I suggest you contact Harland & Voss for their advice www.harlandvoss.com.
We have bought a large stately home which we are renovating and spending a small fortune doing so! I am looking for a lighting company that specialises in traditional lighting and that offers a design service.
Lighting is one of the most difficult things to get right, up to and including how high or low you hang chandeliers. I suggest you try lighting designers Peter Burian Associates. Peter Burian has worked worldwide in venues from churches to castles and for very prominent clients including Paul Getty and the Ford family www.peterburian.co.uk,
Lighting designer Wayne Mottershead joined the interior design firm Carousel Design in 1997. For a small fee, you can email a rough floor plan, architect’s or estate agent’s drawing and Carousel will transform it into a professional lighting plan, incorporating furniture layouts and any additional interior elements required www.carouseldesign.co.uk.
I am looking for low voltage mood lighting for a bathroom. I would like wall lights – maybe LED lighting if suitable.
The regulations are strict concerning the type of light you can use in a bathroom. Fittings should be IP44 rated (ingress of water rating) within the bathroom and IP65 + in the shower area and wet rooms. Brilliant & Great Lights (www.greatlights.co.uk) could advise you on lighting effects and practical issues. They say you could use LED lighting in the bathroom as long as the mains voltage is outside the room, and that the safest mood lighting is probably fibre-optic lighting (as the light source is outside the space). Other companies you might want to look at are:
I have an antique glass chandelier with some broken crystals. It probably also needs rewiring. Can you suggest a restorer?
Norfolk Decorative Antiques will tackle both the repair and rewiring for you. They can replace the broken crystals with antique ones from stock or even remake badly broken glass parts. They are based in Norfolk but can organise carriers to pick it up from you. For more details see www.norfolkdecorativeantiques.co.uk.
Wilkinson PLC is a London specialist in the repair of fine English and continental chandeliers and wall lights. They supply period drops and buttons plus the original bronze casting patterns for restoration of metalwork; also ceiling plates and hooks, candles and bulbs www.wilkinson-plc.com.
I wonder if you could tell me where I could find a domed ‘dolly switch’ in polished chrome?
Holloways of Ludlow sell several types, smooth or ribbed, and in brass, bronze and black or white ceramic. They are indistinguishable from turn of the century originals. Unlike reclaimed examples, however, the insides meet current electrical standards.
They have shops in Shropshire, London and Surrey, or order online at www.hollowaysofludlow.com
