Design trends can make designing a home a little tricky. On one hand, they make innovative ideas mainstream and accessible for inspiration. But on the other, they can also drag you away from timeless and into soon-to-be-outdated territory very quickly. For example, it used to show wealth, status, and style to have a room filled with an entire line of matching furniture. However, nowadays, a matching furniture set is viewed as outdated, at best (grandma’s matching antiques), or cheap, under stimulating, and downright boring at worst (discount furniture store special, anyone?). People caught onto the fact that this matchy-matchy look was a temporary fad and went on to put further thought and attention into curating their furniture selections.
Well, guess what? Today, there’s an eerily similar outdated lighting trend that designers are wishing that homeowners would get the hint already and just stop doing. It’s me -– I’m the interior designer begging you to stop, though I’d wager I’m nowhere near alone in this request. In the same way that matching furniture sets is a trend that is ruining your home’s aesthetic, using decorative lighting that all comes from the same line gives a similar uninspired, uneventful, and generic feeling to your home’s aesthetic. Your matchy-matchy fixtures are inadvertently giving off all the wrong vibes. Rather than selecting lights from the same lighting line, complimentary, curated lighting is the key to creating a dynamic, design-forward look.
The issues that make matchy-matchy fixtures look dated and lackluster
So what’s the big deal about selecting matching light fixtures for your home? After all, it makes things feel cohesive, and surely it means you’re following your design vision to go all-in on something you love, right? Well, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but lighting fixtures are not exempt from the “too much of a good thing” premise. Just like overdoing your favorite eyeshadow or chocolate cake, the limit does, in fact, exist. Installing too many of the same light fixtures feels monotonous and bland. And honestly, don’t hate the messenger, but matching lights also come across as lazy, as if you selected the default option without much thought or care, even if that’s absolutely not the case. While you may love the fixtures you chose, when bundled as a default set, you lose the impact of what makes the light so special by leaning too hard into the same aesthetic over and over again. The repetition kills the appeal and makes the choice seem easy or thoughtless.
Matching sets can also come across cheap, even if that, once again, isn’t true in the slightest. Because you loaded up on them, the unfortunate impression is that you got a deal you couldn’t pass up. A carefully collected mix of lights has the opposite effect, as the eye-catching variety of lighting looks more expensive and upgraded than the repetitive fixtures people will assume you got for a bargain at a big box store. The point is, if your matching fixtures are giving off generic, boring, lazy, and cheap vibes –- which I doubt is the goal –- don’t you think it’s time for a change?
How to craft an intentional and design-forward mix of light fixtures
How does one go about designing a thoughtful assortment of lighting to avoid the monotonous pitfalls of matching fixtures? After all, there’s a fine line between curated complimentary lights and a mishmash of random fixtures without any common thread. The key lies in the harmonious balance of variation and continuity – changing things up enough to be dynamic but calling back to finishes and style elements often enough to feel cohesive.
That sounds great on paper, but how do you actually accomplish that in real life? First, I love to use a variety of types of light fixtures throughout the space, both to create a balance of layered lighting functions -– overhead, task, and ambiance –- as well as create an visually interesting and unexpected mix of decorative fixtures. This applies to hardwired lights like chandeliers, flush or semi-flush mounts, scones, pendants, and vanity lights, as well as plug-in floor and table lamps. Change it up per room and have fun! Next, vary the finishes and lines of the fixtures to a degree. While you don’t want to mix wildly incongruous styles, such as a farmhouse rustic aged iron pendant with a modern glam crystal chandelier, choosing fixtures with different silhouettes within your general aesthetic is perfect for creating a harmonious lighting array. Similarly, you don’t need to have all fixtures in the same finish throughout the house to make it feel aligned, but calling back to those finishes, such as in other light fixtures (even as secondary accents), plumbing, or hardware, helps tie it all together.
When choosing new lighting for your home, create a well-curated yet harmonious mix of fixture types, finishes, and silhouettes for a chic, thoughtful design that’s far more elevated than using default matching light fixtures.
