Multicoloured wall sconce

A multicoloured sconce embraces colour instead of holding it back: tinted glass, mosaic, printed shade. This selection of wall sconces gathers models where several tones coexist on a single fitting, switched off as well as lit. Light here becomes a decorative element in its own right.

Colours assembled, not simply painted

Most of these sconces draw their polychromy from glass: coloured pieces set in lead, fused discs, blowing in several layers. Others rely on printed fabrics, pigmented resins or enamels applied in zones. The process shows to the eye: glass keeps its depth, printing stays on the surface.

The balance between the tones does the rest. Some models play a tight range, amber, honey and rust, while others set blue, green and red firmly against one another. The first fit in anywhere, the second call for a plain setting, unlike our clear or frosted glass wall sconces.

What happens once it is switched on

Coloured glass filters the spectrum: each zone only lets part of the light through and casts its tone onto the wall. The look changes completely between the switched-off state, where you look at the material, and the lit state, where you look at the projected colours.

This filtering costs output. A slightly stronger source makes up for the loss, but it has to stay measured: too much light bleaches the tones and erases the drawing. A warm white strengthens the yellows and the reds, a neutral white better preserves the blues and the greens.

Measuring colour in a room

A multicoloured fitting works better on its own than repeated. Placed in a hallway, a stairwell or an entrance, it gives a visual marker to a passing space that is often overlooked; our hallway wall sconces gather other formats for these narrow surfaces.

In a child's bedroom, it brings a coloured secondary light without saturating the whole. In a living room, keep a neutral wall for it: a busy wallpaper and a polychrome shade cancel each other out.

The styles represented

Leaded glass and stained glass

Stained glass style multicoloured wall sconce

Pieces of coloured glass joined by a metal web draw a geometric or floral motif. The light passes through each piece separately and casts a luminous mosaic.

Mosaics and tesserae

Coloured mosaic wall sconce

Here the fragments are smaller and set on a dome or a cylinder. The result is more sparkling, with reflections that shift with the viewing angle.

Printed shades

Coloured wall sconce with motifs

Printed fabric or paper spreads a more even light, the colour staying legible above all from the outside. These models join the spirit of our unique wall sconces.

Look at the effect at night before fixing for good: the projected tone always differs from that of the glass at rest.