How to create a still life with your lamp

Many times we find it difficult to decorate our homes.

Spain, traditionally due to its climate, its people, its culture... is a country where a lot of life is spent outdoors, and the weather makes this possible, so the interiors are less lived in.

Consider England, for example, which has traditionally been a country where the decorative arts have been highly developed, especially since the Arts & Crafts movement pioneered by William Morris, and where its people seem to have an innate flair for decorating their spaces. In England, homes have traditionally been decorated with wallpaper, flowers, and different textures, as the climate is not conducive and the interiors are very lived-in.

Let's even think about our own North, where cities like San Sebastián stand out for their avant-garde character and where homes are more dressed up and bolder in colors, designs, and textures...

We don't need to be experts to create small decorative nooks in our homes. In reality, we need to lay some groundwork, observe closely to develop a good eye, and have a little imagination . My idea here is to give you a few tips so you can create a small still life at home around a very special piece: your lamp.

The first thing we should ask ourselves is: where are we going to put our lamp? The important thing is to think about the importance we want to give our lamp and its purpose. If we've already selected the location (a nightstand, a side table, a dresser) and we bought it with our minds set on what we were going to put it there, great. If not, what I would recommend is that if it's already a very decorative lamp, don't put it on a very ornate piece of furniture because MORE+MORE will always be MORE... and in this case, neither one nor the other will attract attention. Too much information for the eye.

Once our lamp is in place, let's think about small decorative objects we might have around the house: candles, minerals, ashtrays, figurines, frames, trays... The idea is to play with different decorative objects, heights, textures, and colors that complement each other. Our lamp will be the decorative object that sets the maximum height, and then work its way down.

Let's try, for example, with a candlestick or a low candle, a small jug, and something flatter like an ashtray or tray:

Let's place the next tallest decorative object next to the lamp (jug)
Let's play with the space in front to insert the other objects (candle, mineral)
We will leave the front area for the flattest element (ashtray or tray)