Metals warm up. The warming and darkening of metals, which we’ve seen in both lighting and furnishings for a couple of years, continued into this season. Brass finishes keep getting redder and richer, as in this burnt brass Lund table lamp from Four Hands. And while brass remains the most popular finish, especially in traditional- and transitional-style lighting, we saw more oil-rubbed bronze and especially forged iron than we saw just last spring. Many of these metal fixtures feature hand-textured and burnished finishes and metalwork details such as perforations and knurling. And often they’re paired with warm, candle-like bulbs that create a moody glow.

On the flip side, we saw significantly fewer of the powder-coated white metal fixtures that were popular a couple of years ago.

Other materials to watch. Alabaster and natural stone bases and accents have been popular for years now and show no sign of leaving showrooms. But we’ve seen a transition from white and gray marbles to much warmer, veinier and more colorful stones over the past few seasons. Also, gorgeous, handmade ribbed, waffled and otherwise worked glass returned to showrooms in force this fall after making a splash last spring, and seems to be expanding in popularity.