How To Choose A Novelty Light

As with regular lights, you have a choice between tabletop, wall-mounted and freestanding novelty lights.

Tabletop Novelty Lights

Easy to install and simple to move to another room as required, tabletop novelty lights are small to medium-sized. While they make good statement pieces for your housing on your tables, they can get in the way, so be sure to choose a design you can live with.

Wall Mounted Novelty Lights

Less obtrusive than a tabletop lamp, wall-mounted novelty lamps take a little longer to fit. They work best for illuminated slogans and vintage-style signs. From your porch to your bathroom, you can use wall-mounted signs to make a statement or even tell a joke. Food and drink-related ones are also popular in open plan kitchen and dining areas.

Freestanding Novelty Lights

Freestanding novelty lights are less common, but combine the advantages of both tabletop and wall-mounted models. You can easily move them from one room to another and they won't clutter up your counters or tabletops. As they tend to be rather large, they look best in bigger rooms of the home, such as your living or dining room.

How to Match a Novelty Light to My Decor?

While your choice of novelty light depends a lot upon your character, there are some basic dos and don'ts for matching novelty lights to your decor. However, if a particular novelty light really speaks to you, then throw caution to the wind. After all, novelty lights are meant to stand out.

• For minimalist decor, opt for written slogans and messages. These tend to be pretty low key when unlit and their single bright neon color works well with understated and contemporary styles.
• Industrial decors can benefit from the kitsch and nostalgic novelty lights relating to food, beverages, cars, motorbikes and gas stations.
• Eclectic decors can accommodate some of the crazier designs, including multi-colored lights, without overwhelming your room.
• Farmhouse and traditional style kitchen can be brightened up with vintage food and beverage novelty lights.

Which Novelty Lights Should I Choose for Different Rooms?

Before you purchase a new novelty light for your home, it's important to think carefully about where you're going to place it.

Here's our room-by-room guide to choosing a new novelty light for your home:

Kitchen

Choose a food or drink related novelty light and jazz up your kitchen when the day comes to an end. From a simple light-up cocktail glass to a back-lit diner vintage sign, the choices are almost endless. Modern and chic to vintage and kitsch with just about everything in between.

Living room

Look for a fun novelty light for your living room. Here, we recommend avoiding slogans or flashing lights as you already have your TV and electronic devices. Look for a relaxing novelty light with a nice colored glow that will accent a particular corner or area of your living space.

Bathroom

Neon written messages are a good choice for bringing some personality to your bathroom. They are usually wall-mounted, so you don't have to worry about them taking up precious space in what is often the smallest room in the home. You could also go traditional with a Hollywood-style lit up mirror or other novelty vanity lights.

Kids Room

From spaceships to sports teams, stars, fairies or unicorns, give your kid's room a makeover with a fun novelty lamp. Choose whatever makes their imagination run wild or complement their room theme. For shared bedrooms, opt for a colored light with a soft glow.

Bedroom

Wall-mounted or on your bedside cabinet, bedrooms are great places for novelty lights. As one of the more private rooms of your home, choose whatever light you like without worrying about what anyone else thinks, this is your space and your rules.

Whatever you choose, just be sure to opt for a light that is suitably relaxing. Whether it's a fun or provocative quote on the wall above your bed, or a gently lit salt lamp to read by in bed, you'll want to avoid overly bright models that can distract and interfere with your sleep patterns.