Designing with lights

Shine & sparkle

Available in various shapes and shades, bubble lamps are ideal for lighting both small and large spaces. Complementing the style of your room, these lamps add aesthetic value to your home, writes K S Someswara.

When it comes to home interiors, there are many accessories which play their part in enhancing the look and feel of your home. Among them, various lighting fixtures, fancy lights and shades also lend a special touch. Bubble lamps offer aesthetic value to the place and make it appear trendy and colourful. A bubble lamp can become a focal point in a room.

Originally, liquid filled vials which sparkle and bubble when lit by an ordinary electric bulb were in use. Technology has come a long way and the pattern and design of these lamps have undergone a lot of change. Typically, bubble lights were used as Christmas tree accessories. The present form of bubble lamps are not only used in homes but also in office cabins. They infuse a lot of colour into a space and are available in many colours and sizes. Materials like glass and hard plastic are commonly used and plastics give a glare-free diffused light in abundance.

Bubble lamps are available in many shapes like elliptical, round, saucer shape etc. They are available both in white and in an array of shades. They are ideal for modern decor. A colourful printed variety lends a retro touch to the space. Bubble lamps are sturdier than paper lamps or lanterns. They are good for illuminating small spaces like corridors. A large bubble lamp in white colour will give a fine look to the space around.
How bubble lamps can enhance the look of a space also depends on how it is placed relative to the rest of the interior decor scheme. If a lamp is placed in a corner or at the centre, it can enhance the look of the rest of the space.

Varied shapes of bubble lamps with colour changing lights are great fun for children. Such lamps can also be used as night lamps with low lighting effect. Clustering of two or three bubble lamps adds spice to the interior decor scheme.

Small and simple lamps can all be grouped together and arranged. The cluster arrangement is readily available in the market and one has to choose the same to suit one’s decor style. Even table and floor standing bubble lamps are also very popular in interior decoration. The style of the lamps should blend well with the room design. The glowing sphere can be used as a decor element over the dining table, in a corner of the living room or at the staircase landing. It can become a focal point in a room. When used in clusters and hung at various lengths, they give a contemporary feel to the interiors. They can be embellished with mirrors, paint or threadwork.

Bubble lamps are one of the top five lighting accessories along with chandeliers, glass and drum lighting. If one considers the benefits of these lamps, their diffused emission of light gives a good aesthetic value. If fitted with LED/CFL lights, these lamps are best suited in terms of good illumination and energy saving.