From Belgium with love

Waffles, chocolate and trendy lights

Delicious waffles and chocolate prepared with love – that’s what Belgium is famous for. Right? Not just that. For a while now, Belgium has also stood for trendy lights that not only look great, but that also have compelling inner values. State-of-the-art LEDs that feel equally at home in a cosy attic apartment or in the hippest club in the city. Because they save space, save resources, and offer greater quality of life. And that is exactly what Wever & Ducré want. I discovered this amazing luminaire designer only recently but instantly fell in love with their designs. Even their brochure oozes aesthetic appeal, a sense of style and quality.

Lighting can be difficult

And lighting can be difficult, right? It's not easy to create a light plan for your home. Let's be honest, most home makers forget about it until the very last minute. And are then never quite sure where to start. You can choose a lamp for its design (very important of course), but you need to visualise it in a room, and more importantly, it needs to light up a space appropriately! So do you choose a floor lamp, a pendant or a wall fitting for example? How high or low should it hang (does it shine straight into your eyes?)? Should it illuminate up or down, or diffuse? Many make the mistake of not customising their lighting to their space, go for one type of light per room, choose the wrong lighting or ignore sizing needs.

I am blessed with very high ceilings in my house. But let me tell you, that can be a challenge! Ever tried to fit a lamp at 4m high? Anyway, practical problems aside, you want to a) avoid creating dark spots, with pendants that only shine downwards and b) avoid a hospital-like setting with bright lights at 4m height. Layering is the key. My kitchen poses an additional problem (or implementation concern as I prefer to call them 😉) as I have a whopper of a skylight. Electricity is fed through a tube in the middle, of which a pendant is suspended.

New!

Anyway, this was a very long intro to get to what I actually wanted to show you... my new lighting in my live-in kitchen! And I bloody love it! I am a big fan of natural materials. My kitchen features wood, brick, concrete, marble and leather. The first pendant above my kitchen island was rattan. Worked a treat from a design point of view, however it wasn't terribly practical. When you can see through a shade, you have to be mindful what bulb you use (you don't want go blind, do you?). So by default it used a dimmer bulb, which meant that in winter I couldn't quite see what was on my plate and what I was putting into my mouth.

The rock collection of Wever & Ducré

Then I was introduced to the Rock Collection of Wever & Ducré. Both my husband and I were instantly in love! The natural textures, the rough edges, the bold look, but still such a sleek design. Natural variation of the material means no shade is ever the same, which is perfect. I like individuality in statement pieces; bold just like me, my style and my home. This range of designer lighting, made of stone veneer, contrasts perfectly against the exposed brick, the marble and the wood. And complements the concrete-look kitchen cabinets. I instantly pictured for myself where the larger pendant of the Rock Collection should go; above my kitchen island!

My kitchen island is 1.5m on all sides. Given the height of the ceilings, the skylight above and the size of the island, the pendant should be a decent size too. I choose the pendant of the 4.0 collection with a diameter of 74cm. About half the size of the table below is generally a good indicator. The pendant arrived, I hung it, and never looked back. Oh my, I love the instant update to my kitchen! Whispering Bold's kitchen2.0 let me tell you. Also, the design goes beyond looks. One of my pet hates (and perhaps slight OCD tendencies 🙈), home decor that isn't quite straight, was instantly rectified by the supplied extra weights. You can add little weights as you please, to level your pendant. How clever is that? More importantly, the lamp lights up my island perfectly and I can see what I eat! Also light escapes from the top which is important to me, to ensure the height of the room is emphasised as well.

The complete picture

Looking at my new designer lamp shade against the exposed brick wall, I just knew I had to have a smaller version next to my blue couch. It would complete the picture. For this corner I chose smallest the lampshade (37cm diameter) from the Rock Collection 3.0. I couldn't be happier with how that corner turned out.

My new pendants in my live-in kitchen add layers, texture, interest, design and light. Apart from statement pieces, they're functional as well. And with darker days looming, that's highly desired! The Wever & Ducré Rock Collection comes in a variety of shapes and sizes; I was able to pick the ones perfect for my space and customise my look. What do you think? Doesn't it look fabulous?

What's in a name?

You'd think Wever & Ducré was named after its founders. However the true story is way more interesting and creative! The story of Wever & Ducré began in the early 80's, when a handful of young Belgians decided to start a lighting company. So far, so good. But what name should they give to this new company? This is an issue in Belgium, since it has several official languages, including Flemish and French. The founders of the company didn’t want to choose one or the other, so there was only one option left: The name had to fit phonetically into both worlds. During their lively discussions on the topic, the young entrepreneurs then chanced upon a document that would play a decisive role in the company’s history: a roadmap, as it were, that explained in five points how to be successful in life – through hard work (WErklust), trust (VERtrouwen), and enthusiasm (ENthousiasme ), combined with courage (DUrf) and the necessary dose of creativity (CREativiteit). This has been the company philosophy, from then until now.

Wever & Ducré get their inspiration from people like us who share the passion for beautiful things and who attach just as much importance to appealing design as to high-quality construction. And they deliver promptly right from their warehouse – straight from Belgium with love!

I hope I have inspired you to revisit the lighting in your home. Do you want to update your lighting with true statement pieces? With design, straight from Belgium with love? Then check out the entire collection of Wever & Ducré. With so many designs to choose from, I have no doubt you'd be able to create your own custom look.

Love, Marieke