Friday, August 17, 2012

Table Lamp

Perhaps one of the oldest kinds of illumination is a Rustic table lamp. They have been around for many centuries. They started off as simple wax lamps and progressed to oil lamps and then finally as electric table lamps. What has not changed is the use they are put to.  We are surrounded by all kinds of gadgets and machines primarily intended to make life easier. Often the all end up doing the opposite.  Computers and offices are places designed to be purely functional. There is little thought given to the fact that it is to be used by humans. The need for a break from the stiff upper lip formal life is always a welcome break from the daily routine. So a rustic lamp here, a rustic scene there does help distress ourselves. The most eye catching aspect of a rustic lamp is the material they are made of. Earlier they were mostly made from raw material available easily. Thin and translucent animal skin, silk fabric or organic paper for the shade, wooden carvings for the base, ceramic oil holder and cotton wick. 

A glass shade or a paper shade was also often used. All these shade ideas were nature inspired and always carried drawings, paintings and caricatures of wild animals, nature, a log house etc. Being informal in design and connecting to village life, they add warmth to the setting and definitely enhance the beauty of the place. The table, side table or sofa which ever furniture they are placed on looks beautiful and eye catching.  

A table lamp is the most common kind of lighting idea around us. It is seen as a study lamp, a bar table lamp, as a mantelpiece lamp or even a side table mini pedestal lamp. It serves a s a lighting accessory for a table, a sofa, a settee, or as a soft lighting solution for a large room. There is a Rustic table lamp for the kitchen, the living room, and bedroom and kids room. Rustic table lamps come in various shapes and designs using a variety of material like ceramic, terracotta, glass, brass, steel and wood. They are mostly organic in design and are made from material which is biodegradable and recyclable. Complete terracotta lamps with an oil lamp or a candle holder are the most apparent examples which have been around for thousands of years. 

We find examples of rustic table lamps all around the world. E.g. Japanese rice paper lamps, wooden lamps with reindeers and terracotta lamps  are excellent examples of rustic lamps which are very popular even today.

 

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