Add a dash of individual flair through lighting

Here’s the thing Christmas is nearly upon us and evenings are getting darker earlier and earlier, am I alone in loving this fact? I love it I absolutely love it – homes look snug and cosy and inviting although I must say on taking Maud for a late afternoon walk yesterday and peering in as I do at all the neighbourhood homes I was aghast to see just how many pads had that dreaded (I shall type this super fast so we don’t all gasp and kill ourselves) that dreaded repeat dreaded single pendant light thing going on with nothing else. Flat, dull, miserable light casting a deadly glow  – I was tempted to knock at some of them but refrained myself you will be glad to here! Lighting changes spaces so radically you just need to have a lot and then you create  little pockets of glow which in turn adds  intrigue and atmosphere to a room. Oh well I can only bang on about it for so long and I do realise I can't change the world  until I become PM. Then I can outlaw such practices and send people to jail! In the meantime two images from the fabulous photographer Hugh Stewart of two restaurant scenes. If you are ever stuck for lighting ideas always check out a good bistro or pub where the lighting is often times bang on trend. Atmospheric, cosy, intimate  - you enter and you immediately get that feeling of squishy contentment. That’s what we want from our homes – a magical squishy contended feeling the minute we walk through the door. A bit like having a double shot of whisky I’m thinking. This image makes me think of Paris all those tiny little dark bistros tucked down cobbled streets beautifully lit and just begging you to come in. Going to be in Paris in a few weeks time cannot wait! Love the yellowy light even though  you can’t make out the light fixtures it just shouts warmth.