Feature lamps can create a sense of atmosphere and beauty in the home

When you’re choosing a lampshade, ivory whites will disperse more light, but metal shades, which are very popular at the moment, won’t allow light through.

Lighting is a topic I usually visit in autumn or winter, and then out of practicality, when days are short and often gloomy, nights seem never ending, and your best friend for creating atmosphere and a feeling of cosiness — apart from a crackling fire, of course — is the lamp.

It does a sterling job of toning down the harsh glare of main ceiling lights, and in summer time when days are long and we’re reluctant to turn on main lights before 10pm, they’re a soft transition from July evening light to necessary indoor illumination until we head to slumberland