It may be a family heirloom or a lamp you found in an antique sale room, but decorating your home with antiques of any kind, including antique lamps, can create a stunning statement.

A favourite trick with interior designers is to mix different styles and period pieces within a scheme.

When you get this right it can be extremely effective, though some care is required to make sure that items make a statement that says ‘style’ and not ‘chaos’!

The style of house you own should be a consideration when you begin your grand design scheme. Period properties will suit antique touches well, while more modern homes will need to be approached with a definite plan. Most period houses will have the odd architectural addition here and there, combining a number of periods.

This fact makes them surprisingly adaptable when it comes to the interior design. Victoriana can be incorporated into the design; Georgian and Jacobean features and furnishings can complement each other.

Sourcing antique lamps can help to create the look that fits with the house. Gas lighting was common in Victorian houses and antique lamps and fittings can be adapted very successfully to restore these features with electric fittings.

If you intend to completely honour the heritage and period of your home, then specific light fittings and antiques from the correct era will be necessary. However, many old houses feature a range of antiques from several eras and creating this look can give your home a truly authentic look.

More recent buildings, such as 20th century homes can benefit from a number of approaches. You can make the decision to furnish your home as it would have been in the period it was built. Many people do take this route, though it is really the approach of the enthusiasts. Some stunning homes have been created in this way, but it may not be the ideal solution for everyone!

Twentieth century homes often adapt well to modern design schemes, and this may be the type of design that you prefer. However adding the occasional antique to this type of scheme can work wonders. Period antique and vintage lamps that originate in the same period as the building often work well in this type of house. Vintage lamps are particularly good features, as they can be used in any room to create a subtle lighting effect and set of your other design decisions to perfection.

Antique lamp specialists usually stock a range of lamps in different styles, from differing periods and continents. So what are the choices? French, English and other European porcelain are very popular choices.

Ranging from the classic English Wedgwood base, which is ideal for an elegant, understated scheme and can fit in well with just about any design style, right through to the deliciously ornately gilded ‘Empire’ French style; opulent and sophisticated, this type of antique lamp adds more than a little ‘je ne sais quoi’ to your home.

Chinese and Japanese Porcelains and Earthenware lamp bases have a very different look to their European counterparts, although the ornate coloured Chinese porcelains were often copied in Europe, being especially popular in the Georgian times.

Antique lamps from the east add a sophisticated and exotic touch to your home. For period homes the ornate Chinese lamp can fit well in drawing rooms and as subtle stand-alone lighting for hallways, entrances and landings. Japanese designs can range from stunning brightly Imari colours to the bottle shaped Sake bottles, now converted into lamp bases. The latter often have a simple style about their design which works particularly well in a modern home.

The main point of having a range of lamps around your living space is of course the ambience that they create, helping to transform your house into your home and creating an outward statement of your taste and style, adding an antique lamp to your home will make a statement about your individuality and strong sense of unique taste.

Apart from the designs that are available from different cultural sources, consider the period that you prefer. In both European and Eastern designs there are considerable differences across historical periods – so shop around to find the one that suits you and your home the best.

Classic Wedgwood designs will suit just about any home, any design scheme and any period. Though originating in the 18th century, the simplicity of the style and subtle colours used in the manufacture of this porcelain and jasper make it an ideal statement piece even in the most modern of homes.

Whatever styles you choose, you are sure to find the right lamp to add that unique touch to your home and remember, its light that makes all the difference to an interior. As a personal view, I believe that it is actually impossible to think of interior design without lamp lighting.

The Antique and Vintage Table Lamp Co specialize in antique lamps with an exclusive on-line range of over 100 unique lamps. Lamps are shipped worldwide (lampes sans fronti