Consider the Light Switch

The Design Feature You May Have Ignored, But Shouldn’t 

While designing a house last winter and spring, I thought I had everything picked out. There were, of course, the paint colors, which I had belabored for months. There were the robust wallpapers, which I had selected from reams of samples, sent to me in the mail. There was the furniture, which I had perseverated over, and the pendant lighting in the kitchen, and the light fixture in the dining room, hung low to shine above the 1950s-era dining table. 

What I had not considered, until my husband called attention to it, was what I would do about my home’s antiquated light switches. They were cream-colored and plastic. They were dingy and old, and they did not match my vision for my new house. 

Design lovers like me should know that a light switch can, in fact, make or break a room. In our house, we upgraded to Lutron (lutron.com) dimmer switches, the sleek-looking and smart-compatible switches that allow us to control the lights in every room of our house from an app, no matter where we find ourselves. 

Lutron switches come in a variety of colors — switches themselves can be purchased in high-gloss options like black, white, gray, ivory, and brown, or satin options, like signal red, deep sea, sage, and lunar gray. (They make wall plates to match, too.) In our family room, which we painted Bavarian Forest, a rich and deep green, straight up to the ceiling, we installed a smart-looking black Lutron dimmer, encased in a glossy black wall plate, and my does it pop. 

For those in the market for a more stylized look, the British brand Buster + Punch (busterandpunch.com) produces bespoke metal light switch toggles in various finishes. Brass, smoked bronze, and steel toggled switches, which come with matched wall plates, add an air of sophistication to any room. It’s a statement that people will notice, just as they’ll notice what kind of door handle and hinge you’ve chosen in your dream home.  

The true lover of design will gravitate naturally to Forbes & Lomax’s (forbesandlomax.com) broad selection of switches and wall plates. Their inventive invisible collection allows you to highlight either the wall color or wallpaper behind the switch; it’s no more than a thick piece of acrylic that makes prominent whatever happens to fall behind it (customers have the option of placing in the center toggles, rotary dimmers, or push buttons, all available in various metal finishes). And the company’s stunning Verdigris collection, a blue-black aged patina that was inspired by the Greek bronze age, is a unique and eye-catching addition to any home-in-progress. 

Finally, for the geometry-obsessed, Matureware by Futagami (matureware.jp/en/switch) offers light switch toggles and wall plates in various shapes and sizes. If it’s a circle you fancy, they have that. Prefer a hexagon? They’ve got that, too. These delightful designs are almost too beautiful for just turning on the light, but, on the plus side, you get to look at them every single day. They’re just that important.