We’re talking about the big shift, from the general use of incandescent globes to energy saving globes, which use only 25% as much energy as their old style cousins, and save us enormous amounts of both money and greenhouse gases over their lifetime. Who knew that a light bulb could create such an involved conversation (except maybe Thomas Edison!). But there is a lot of talk being thrown around currently about how great energy saving bulbs are. Truth is, that they are going to be an absolutely necessary weapon in our arsenal against climate change – but there are two sides to every story....

Lyman (usually just ‘L.’) Frank Baum wrote The Wizard of Oz, one of my personal all-time favourite movies and one to which I know all of the lyrics, including whether the high voiced Munchkins or low-voiced Munchkins sing the lines! It is an absolute classic, as well as the first movie to be made in color, and the classical style of the movie is reflected in the design of this chandelier in the lobby of the Hotel del Coronado, which Mr. Baum also designed. With a total of 25 lamps to make the crystal chains underneath absolutely glow, and elegant styling which is all the more beautiful for...

Hey, when your grandparents (or parents … or sister, as the case may be) said that the internet was just crazy fandangled new technology, I bet they didn’t realize that there’d be an easy link to a great place to buy all the household implements, decorations and fixtures they had in their home as a kid, right on the first page that opens! “What are you rambling about?”, I can hear you thinking… Actually, Architectural Classics has just acquired their own button that you can add to your Google toolbar… so that you have links to the most popular AC pages, actually on every page that...

Now, cats may not be as easy to train as dogs – but these videos of cats opening doors prove that this is not necessarily because they are less intelligent than dogs. It is only because they’ll only do things that benefit themselves, and don’t necessarily give a rat’s behind what you want them to do!

The Ice Hotel is located in Jukkasjärvi in Sweden – a shivering 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle! All of the ice in the hotel, including the gorgeous clear columns, the intricate chandelier, and the impressive walls comes from the River Torne. This river apparently produces the clearest ice possible, because of the water’s purity and the steady movement of the river. It has an eerie, solemn, alien look to most of it, and the ice chandelier that you see at the start of the movie is one of the touches that makes it seem a bit more accessible and human. You could otherwise believe...

You can just imagine these door knockers as a couple of grumpy old men, sitting at the side of a river fishing… or sitting on their porch perhaps whittling some wood or smoking a pipe! Those of you with the traditionally ubiquitous lion’s head knocker can also be grateful that not every door knocker has this amount of animation or personality. When Sarah has to pinch the door knocker’s nose shut to get the ring back in, you can see how you might have a bit of trouble doing that with a live lion’s head – with metal teeth, nonetheless! It is possible to buy these knockers online, but...

Well, the urban legend of the nail sticking up out of the floor holding up a chandelier in a room below (or you can substitute wires) may just have some truth about it – but by gosh, it sure isn’t scary! Unlike the one about the murderer in the back seat of the car, or the tapping at the window, this one is just a little bit pointless. The (scary) story goes, that there were a pair of sisters who were never allowed to touch a nail sticking out of their parents’ bedroom floor, but were not told why. One morning they came in to their parents’ bedroom to find them dead mysteriously, and the...

When you look at the very extensive, very intricate, and very well-made lighting products in our antiques range, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that possibly the most authentic antique light is DIY, free and available to all at the low-low price of nothing - the simple campfire. The creation of fire is recognized as one of humankind’s first and most important steps towards where we are today – but recognized by few as the most authentic of antique lamps!! Lighting has progressed through various stages throughout history to come to where it is now, with a huge range of lighting options...

As a child, I always wanted to pull out a loose tooth with a piece of string tied to a door knob, and the other end tied to my tooth. I’m sure everyone who heard about this as a kid felt the same way! However, it wasn’t just me that chickened out of having it done, it was also my loving mother. In this video, 5 year old Morgan has the full support of her parents for having her tooth pulled by the door, and begins with the heart of a lion… breaking point comes, though, when she realizes that she can’t just gently shut the door and have the tooth fall out, and that Mum or Dad has to actually...