Lanterns and light
Pierced brass, coloured glass and candles: where to hang them, which bulbs to use, and how to make a lamp bought in Morocco safe at home.
Moroccan light is low, warm and broken into patterns. A pierced lantern throws stars on the walls, and several small lights replace one bright ceiling lamp.
In short
- Use warm white bulbs, 2,200 to 2,700 K, and a dimmer where you can.
- Three or more low lights in a room, not one ceiling light.
- A lamp bought in Morocco is wired for 220 volts and European sockets. Have it checked, and have it rewired in Canada or the United States.
- Clear bulbs give sharp patterns on the walls; frosted bulbs give a soft light and no pattern.
The lamps
- Pierced brass or copper lantern
- Hanging, standing or as a wall light. The pattern of holes decides the pattern on the walls: small holes give stars, larger cut-outs give lace.
- Coloured glass lantern
- An iron frame with panes of coloured glass. Good with a candle or a small bulb, in corners, on balconies and stairs.
- Henna lamp
- Goatskin stretched on an iron frame and painted with henna patterns. A soft amber light; keep it away from damp.
- Candle lanterns
- For the table, the floor, a window ledge. Group them in threes of different heights.
- Ceiling dome or chandelier
- Large pierced pieces for high ceilings and stairwells. Check the weight and the fixing in the ceiling.
Where and how high
- Above a dining table: the bottom of the lantern 75 to 85 cm above the table.
- In a passage: at least 200 cm of free height under the lantern.
- In the salon: a floor lantern or a low hanging one in a corner beside the bench, not in the middle of the room.
- A pair of wall lights at 160 to 170 cm, on either side of a mirror or a niche.
- A heavy lantern needs a hook fixed into a joist or a proper ceiling anchor, not the plastic plug of the old ceiling light.
Bulbs
- Colour temperature: 2,700 K for living rooms, 2,200 K for the look of a candle. Above 3,000 K, brass turns grey.
- Clear filament LED bulbs for a pattern on the walls.
- Low power is enough: 4 to 6 watts of LED in a pierced lantern.
- Check the socket. Moroccan and European lamps take E27 or E14 screw bulbs; North American sockets are E26 and E12.
Making a lamp from Morocco safe
- Look inside. The cable should be double insulated, or the metal body should be connected to earth. Many souk lamps have a simple two-wire cable on a metal body.
- In Europe and the Gulf (220 to 240 volts): ask an electrician to check the socket and the cable and to earth the lamp. It is a small job.
- In Canada and the United States (120 volts): have the lamp rewired with a local socket, cable and plug before using it.
- In a bathroom or outdoors, use only lamps rated for damp places. Most decorative lanterns are not.
- Keep pierced metal away from curtains. Bulbs stay cool, candles do not.
Candles
- Never leave a candle burning in an empty room or while you sleep.
- Use a glass holder inside a metal lantern: the metal gets hot.
- LED candles with a warm flicker are safe on stairs, in children's rooms and on shelves.
Mistakes to avoid
- One strong white bulb in a pierced lantern: glare, and no atmosphere.
- Hanging a lantern of 10 kg on a hook made for 2 kg.
- Using a 220 volt lamp in North America with only a plug adapter.
- Cold white bulbs.