Interior design: Lighting up and leading the way

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeLifeHomes Interior design: Lighting up and leading the way Local lamp-maker aspires to bringing style and colour back into home decor Author of the article: By Laura Byrne Paquet, Special to the Citizen Published Sep 18, 2026 Last updated 19 hours ago 4 minute read Join the conversation Artist Ryan Kwiatkowski uses a huge range of materials to make one-of-a-kind lamps in his Newboro studio. PHOTO BY RYAN KWIATKOWSKI NEWBORO STUDIO Article content Ryan Kwiatkowski has always loved watching design shows. However, as he and his husband Alain Bouchard began buying and renovating houses, something about these TV programs didn’t sit right with him.   Article content Kwiatkowski noticed that just about every show promoted the same trendy décor: white surfaces, pale walls, lots of chrome. Homeowners who deviated from that style and used lots of vibrant colours were often mocked.   Article content Article content Article content As a graphic artist and lifelong colour fan, he found that irritating. Twelve years ago, his annoyance grew when he realized most décor stores also favoured bland neutrals. “When I started redecorating a bedroom, I couldn’t find any personality, any colour,” he remembers. “So, I thought, ‘To hell with this. I’m going to make my own lamp, if I can.’”  Article content He began by contacting a seamstress to learn how to build a fabric lampshade and started working with an electrician as well. He named his first finished lamp Eleanor. (To this day, he names every one of his lighting fixtures and creates an evocative story or poem for each.)   Article content At first, Kwiatkowski didn’t intend to sell his lamps, but someone admired Eleanor in his home and commissioned him to build a custom lighting fixture. Through word of mouth, the business grew.  Article content These days, Kwiatkowski makes lamps, sconces and the occasional chandelier, both on commission and to sell off the shelf through Kwiat Designs Artistic Lighting and Art House. That’s his gallery and studio in tiny Newboro, Ontario, about 120 kilometres southwest of Ottawa.   Article content Article content He says people often assume that he makes a lampshade first and then builds a base to match, but he explains that the process usually works in reverse. “A base is just as important, if not more important, to me than the shade…