Warm, inviting and deeply stylish – there’s nothing lovelier than a lantern-style pendant spilling soft buttery light into a room. They can also be pretty spectacular statement pieces. Here are some inspired ways to bring the magic of lanterns into your home… There’s something immensely comforting about a lantern – something that goes very deep. The word ‘lantern’ comes from the Latin for ‘torch’ and people have been using them since antiquity. Put simply, a lantern is a portable lamp featuring some sort of casing that both protects the light source from the elements and makes the thing ..read more

Pooky’s Natural Beauties range showcases lights made with beautiful natural materials such as alabaster, marble and even ethical, sustainable bone. Here are five reasons why we love lamps handcrafted from interesting, unusual natural materials – and why they make your home, and your life, that little bit better. Plus tips on more ways to bring natural materials into your interior decor… 1. Natural materials provide texture Natural materials are the perfect way to bring texture into a room. And we’re not just talking about running a finger idly along a piece of smooth cool marble as ..read more

How and where to use the colour pink in your home interior design. Plus a guide to pink table lamps, pink lampshades and all kinds of pink lighting… Before we start, let’s get one thing out of the way: there’s much more to pink than Barbie! In terms of interiors, pink – in all its variations – is far more versatile than any stereotypical associations might suggest.  Pink can be surprisingly sophisticated, both as a dominant colour or simply for light touch accents, and its ability to bring out the best in other colours should never be underestimated. Rethinking pink Pink has a tremendous ..read more

Understanding how to layer light is the key to great lighting design and a beautiful, atmospheric home. Here’s Pooky’s complete, updated guide to layering light, including the three main types of lighting and some practical room-by-room tips...   What is layering light - and why is it important? Lighting is divided into three main types: Ambient light (the general level of available light in a room). Task lighting (stronger, targeted light which allows you to carry out practical activities). Accent lighting (used to highlight certain features or areas within a room). Layering light is ..read more

For timeless style, nothing beats a pure, clear blown glass pendant. Here’s a guide to how to use clear ceiling lights, and what makes them so special… Brass and glass go beautifully in lanterns, and chandeliers are spectacular – but sometimes you want the pure stuff. At Pooky we’ve become aficionados of beautiful, hand-blown (well, actually mouth-blown) glass: it has that lovely quality of feeling crafted and handmade, but also very smart. So if you’ve never considered hanging a whacking great piece of glass above your dining table, or a trio of dinky pendants along a corridor – here’s an exp ..read more

How and where to use the colour orange in your home interior design. Plus a guide to orange lampshades, orange table lamps and all things orange lighting…  How do you feel about the colour orange? Not a trick question, by any means…orange is s another of those colours that people tend to either love or loathe. But while we often think of orange as a bold, vibrant, unmissable colour, it also has softer, subtler aspects. It sits between yellow and red on the visible light spectrum, and it can take you from warm honeyed tones, via tangy citrus notes, to blood and burnt orange. Oran ..read more

To mark the launch of Pooky’s new Abstactifications range, here’s a look at how sculptural table lamps can be taken to the max, and add an artistic wow to your home.. Lights have always been a good excuse to bring some beauty into the home. More than any other household appliance, they fulfil both parts of William Morris’ famous dictum: ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’. From the earliest days of electric lighting, designers have been turning these practical necessities into glorious decorative objects: just as lovely when switched off ..read more

Take Pooky’s advice and be a gifting genius this Christmas… ‘Oh, how clever of you!’... that’s the sort of thing you want to hear when someone unwraps their pressie. Because these days you do need to be pretty darned clever to find a really good Christmas gift – one that has the surprise factor and the X-factor and the wow factor and the that-actually-will-come-in-handy factor. No simple matter, finding all those factors. But that’s where lighting comes into its own – it makes for a really ingenious gift, whether it’s a cordless rechargeable table lamp that you can put anywhere, an eye-po ..read more

Keep your outside lights glowing beautifully in all weathers, with our expert maintenance guide… Outside wall lights add style to your garden, panache to your patio and give your front porch a lovely welcoming glow. However, all outdoor lighting requires a little TLC from time to time, especially when exposed to the elements year-round. Find out how to clean and maintain your outdoor wall lights, with our expert guide…   Why is it important to clean outside wall lights regularly? Over time, outside light fixtures inevitably accumulate dust, dirt and other debris, and this can impact on b ..read more

Glam rock! Disco! Outrageous colour combinations! 1970s retro is all about exuberant self-expression – but also warmth, conviviality and fun. Here’s how to get the look in your home – and why lighting is the key. Glamming it up is back – and Pooky has a 70s-tastic new collection of retro revival lights to prove it. Time to dust off those Bowie LPs, wrap yourself in a bright pink feather boa and bring some serious fun back into your interior scheme… 1. Express yourself with layers of colour One reason for the retro revival trend might be that, for quite a long time now, neutrals have dom ..read more