Guide to Decorating With Tiffany Lamps
Created by Louis Comfort Tiffany in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Tiffany lamps are valuable and historic art pieces that make beautiful additions to a room's décor. Master artisans handcrafted these rare lamps, making each one a unique, high-quality statement piece that can enhance any space. Their long and rich history and one-of-a-kind designs have turned them into timeless works of art that never go out of style.
Decorating with Tiffany lamps can bring beauty, elegance and history into a home, especially with thoughtful styling and color coordination. Explore these Tiffany lamp décor ideas to see how one can elevate a room within your home.
Why Decorate With Tiffany Lamps?
Tiffany lamps have been highly sought-after for over a century as rare and valuable works of art. Their enduring appeal makes them ideal for decorating all types of spaces. Whether you are looking to bring history and character to a room or add a sense of authenticity and artistic expression to your décor, you can accomplish your aesthetic purposes with a Tiffany lamp.
Many of Louis Tiffany's designs focus on nature and geometric patterns. They often showcase the ornate, decorative Art Nouveau style that favors bold contrasts, curving lines and nature scenes. Some of Tiffany's lampshade designs include:
- Favrile
- Geometric
- Floral
- Figural motif
- Jeweled
- Turtleback
- Linenfold
- Overlay
Tiffany lamps also come in many sizes, making them versatile décor for a range of rooms. They can add to the ambience or serve as a captivating focal point. Tiffany lamps are available as:
- Pendant lights
- Table lamps
- Floor lamps
- Sconces
- Chandeliers
How to Decorate With Tiffany Lamps
When decorating around a Tiffany lamp, you must select color palettes, furniture and other décor carefully to ensure your antique lamp shines. Keep these styling considerations in mind as you decide where to place your Tiffany lamp and how to decorate the rest of the room around it.
Choose the Right Space
Tiffany lamps can suit a variety of spaces, bringing a sense of beauty and elegance. They work well for rooms such as:
- Dining areas: A pendant Tiffany lamp or chandelier can provide soft ambient lighting for an intimate dinner with friends and family. Formal and decorative, they can also inspire conversation and create a warm, inviting atmosphere for more formal dinner parties.
- Sitting rooms: Adorn a living room with Tiffany lamps for tables or desks. As functional and aesthetic pieces, Tiffany table and floor lamps can add a touch of sophistication to sitting areas while providing additional accent lighting.
- Hallways: Use sconces or table lamps tucked into nooks as small yet impactful touches to enhance and light narrow hallways. Tiffany chandeliers can also add a vintage flair to entryways and hallways.
- Libraries and offices: A Tiffany lamp makes a suitable companion for an armchair or couch, accommodating functional lighting purposes while beautifying the space. They can also elevate a desk or workplace with their stately and unique appearance.
Think About Functionality
One of the most significant benefits of a Tiffany lamp is that it melds art and function together. When contemplating decorating ideas with a Tiffany lamp, consider how you want it to function within the space in addition to how you want it to look. Is it a statement piece meant to be admired rather than used for light? Or is it a subtle lighting enhancement to a room's larger design?
Tiffany lamps provide a small amount of soft, warm light, so they are ideal for ambient mood lighting in dining rooms, living areas and hallways. They can be placed on tables or desks to provide task lighting, though they may need to be paired with other lighting solutions if they are part of a larger workspace. They can brighten dark corners or ceilings, and they can help highlight other decorative touches in a space.
Coordinate Colors
Original Tiffany lamps are rich with vibrant colors. Coordinating colors between the Tiffany lamp and other components of the room is crucial to creating flow and unity within the space. You may find it beneficial to select a color from the lamp to carry out in the paint or wallpaper, furnishings and fittings.
Consider matching large pieces of furniture, such as tables and chairs, to the lampshade's more neutral colors of brown or cream. Yellows and darker greens may also be a guiding factor in selecting complementary furniture. You can add colorful accents to a room with curtains, throw pillows, rugs or small framed artworks based on a lampshade's brighter blues, yellows, purples, pinks or light greens.
Tiffany lamps can suit various styles and preferences, from vintage to modern. They pair well with warm earth tones and wood often found in more traditional-style aesthetics. These colorful lamps can also work well within minimalistic themes and monochromatic color palettes, adding a refreshing yet controlled splash of color. They can serve as an attractive focal point that provides an interesting contrast to modern designs.
In addition to bold colors, Tiffany lamps have intricate and ornate designs, from nature scenes to geometric shapes, that you can replicate throughout the room in wallpaper, fabric or other textures.
Pair With Appropriate Décor
Tiffany lamps make magnificent centerpieces for any space. Placing them alone without any clutter around them is one of the best ways to highlight them. While these unique lamps can stand well on their own, surrounding and enhancing them with the right décor can help create a cohesive atmosphere within the room. Small décor that goes with Tiffany lamps include:
- Vintage pieces: You can blend your Tiffany lamp with other vintage items to create a layered texture that brings character to the room.
- Photographs and artwork: Enhance the sense of history a Tiffany lamp brings to a space by accentuating the lamp with historical or personal pictures and artwork.
- Plants: Many Tiffany lamps incorporate nature motifs that can be carried on throughout the room with living plants.
- Neutral-colored items: Small bowls, books or trinkets in neutral colors can help fill space or serve functional purposes while not crowding the Tiffany lamp.
Contact Fontaine's Auction Gallery If You're Looking to Buy or Sell a Tiffany Lamp
Whether you are looking to add an iconic Tiffany lamp to your collection or sell one, you can trust Fontaine's Auction Gallery to assist with your needs. We have over six decades of experience buying and selling original Tiffany Studio lamps. You can choose from our range of flexible bidding options to enjoy greater convenience in finding Tiffany lamps for your space. If you are interested in selling, we offer appraisal and consignment services.
Contact us today to learn more about our bidding options and appraisal services. We hold many Tiffany lamp auctions throughout the year, so be sure to explore upcoming auctions to see if we have the right Tiffany Lamp for your decorating preferences.
