Transitional Lighting – What is it?
Anyone browsing websites for lighting fixtures to decorate their homes may be tempted to choose a style known as transitional lighting. The smooth curves and solid foundation of transitional lighting style fixtures make it a popular choice among designers today. But anyone trying to define transitional lighting for a friend might be surprised to discover that there are few words to describe this elusive style.
Part of the problem with describing or defining transitional lighting style is that it is a mixture of various styles. Combining the smooth, flowing lines of contemporary style with the ornamentation of classic style, Transitional Lighting is a child without a clearly defined pedigree. As a style in itself, the interior design industry doesn’t really recognize transitional lighting as a separate style. Transitional lighting seems to be more of a “business term” that helps them clarify the class of lighting fixtures that are not quite traditional but not quite contemporary either. Therefore, anyone searching the web for information on transitional lighting will come across one of two possibilities:
1) they’ll run into a ton of sites trying to sell you transitional lighting fixtures without even really explaining the design features of the style itself, or
2) learn that Transitional Lighting refers to a slow but progressive increase or decrease in lighting from one location to another that reduces glare.
None of these search results bring you closer to understanding the nature of transition lighting. A close inspection of websites devoted to architecture and interior design reveals that these sites do not really acknowledge the transitional lighting style itself. Any style that combines different aspects of separate styles is generically called “transitional”. Therefore, what might be considered Transitional Lighting by one person might not necessarily be so by another. This fact is demonstrated when one looks at the various manufacturers and retailers and sees the wide variety of transitional lighting fixtures to choose from. Clearly, the category itself has become something of a catch-all for describing and selling accessories that don’t fit conveniently into any formal design style.
What can be said of transitional lighting in a formal sense is that it is generally referred to as a “girly” style due to the soft lines that characterize most fixtures of this variety. The style’s square base is borrowed from the Mission Lighting style and helps differentiate transitional lighting fixtures from those of the contemporary style. Those who want a “comfortable feel” in their homes often choose the transitional style, as it has a warmer feel than the contemporary style, but not as formal as the classic or traditional style.
Transitional lighting is really difficult to define, but its synthesis between the elegance of the old and the sterility of the contemporary makes it a functional yet creative style to choose when decorating your home.