What exactly is Modern Lighting?

A modern lighting installation

Ask any expert and you get a different answer. To architects and interior designers, modern lighting complements the principles of contemporary architecture. Some people refer to modern lighting as “designer lighting”. Others call it contemporary lighting, or boutique lighting. Modern lighting can exist as hanging pendants, ceiling lights, wall sconces or chandeliers. Designers are coming up with more and more creative ways to light interior spaces, with a combination of sources. The most strategic way to light an environment is with multiple sources, such as floor up-lighters, recessed down lighting, and hidden cove lighting. However, when someone walks into the space, they may only notice the focal point lighting, which is most likely a pendant light, group of hanging lights, or a chandelier. Below are some examples of each instance of lighting.

Modern Pendant Lighting

Example of a modern pendant light

Let’s start with pendant lighting first. Many people refer to these as hanging pendant lights, as well as ceiling lights. Technically speaking, ceiling lights are flush-mounted directly to the ceiling and do not hang down from the ceiling from a cord. A typical modern lighting pendant will be made from glass, ceramic, wood, metal or a linen shade. The light source is either hidden somewhere within, or in the case of Niche Modern lights, the bulb source is highlighted and glorified because of its inherent beauty.

Multiple Pendant Lights

A linear multi-pendant lighting fixture

A group, or cluster of lights can be arranged in a myriad of possibilities. One of the most common uses is to hang a series of pendants in a linear fashion, for example two or three pendants over a dining room table, kitchen island, or over the bar in a restaurant. Pendants can be installed using their own individual electrical canopies or hung from a single metal plate that makes use of a single electrical junction box. This is often the cheapest and most effective way to hang multiple pendant lights because the spacing and arrangement of the lights is already pre-configured.

A staggered multi-pendant light

Another recent popular arrangement of multiple pendants is in a cascade grouping or cluster. It is common to start with a minimum of three staggered pendants, and many interior designers increase this number dramatically for effect. The larger the number of pendants though, the more difficult and expensive the mounting and electrical costs. Niche fabricates metal canopies that are capable of hanging any three or five pendants from. We also have the capability to produce custom canopies that allow dozens of hanging pendant lights to be hung from.

A multi-pendant light in a geometric grid

Other multi-pendant canopies allow strict geometric grids of lights to be mounted, such as the Pack 4 or Pack 9 Modern Pendant Lights.

Modern Chandeliers

A modern chandelier

What is the definition of a chandelier?

Common definitions state that a chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing the light (source: Wikipedia) In the case of Niche Modern Chandeliers, glass lighting globes are mounted to a metal ring or from articulated metal arms.

What Makes Lighting Modern?

We consider lighting to be modern when there is an economy of decoration, and when form is secondary to function. Lighting designer Jeremy Pyles considers simplicity to be the key ingredient to modern lighting.