Illuminate, Illuminate, Illuminate!
Light has quality and meaning. Our mood and general well-being can be impacted by too much or too little light within a space. It’s one of the most important design features and one that is often overlooked. If a design project hasn’t considered the layers of light within the planning phase, then the placement of fixtures may be constrained by electrical outlets, or lack thereof. Have a spot where you want to create a romantic mood, or a place where you want to highlight a vignette? Maybe you have a dark area where you need a little brighter light to read? Or you just want a piece that creates a vibe and brings a bit of delight and #everydaybeautiful to your space.
Not ready to call the electrician just yet? Then these suggestions will make you feel like a lighting magician.
It’s Your Time to Shine: Bring on the Light
Created by Verner Panton in 1971, the Panthella lamp has been a glowing design icon for more than 50 years. The organic shape of the lamp with its delicate stem and exaggerated curves is enticing. Both the shade and the base are reflective creating soft illumination for quiet spaces.
You may remember this Zafferano Pina lamp from our Holiday Design Lover’s Gift Guide. Obviously we can’t get enough of this stylish little fixture that packs a powerful design punch. The Pina is petite enough to fit into the smallest of spaces and has the presence to illuminate even the darkest corner.
The Easy Peasy from Lodes is a beautiful lighting option on its own, and an impressive art installation when grouped in multiples. Reminiscent of a childhood memory, the Easy Peasy feels like a nesting doll composed of the curved body and the rounded finial. The colorful blown glass provides a prism for diffused light, creating a moody glow.
Merging art and design into a functional piece of illumination, Gau Aulenti’s Pipistrella lamp ticks all the boxes. (The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art houses an original from 1965.) A newly released, petite version of the original offers the freedom of a wireless solution so this piece can stand on its own to create a #DesignLife. focal point.
Is it lighting or is it sculpture? The Como is a creative design from the team of Space Copenhagen, which works across multiple disciplines from interior design to art installation. Minimal and organic, this piece seems from another time and yet remains thoroughly modern.
In a spin-off from their Edison Lamp, the whimsical folks over at Fatboy have created a translucent version that allows you to peek behind the curtain of their lighting design with the Transloetje table lamp. This lightweight and conversation starting option is good for indoor and protected outdoor use.
Designed by Christophe Mathieu for Marset, the Bicoca table lamp is a versatile, acrobatic lighting accessory for your home. Made of a lightweight polycarbonate and accessorized with a strong magnet that can be attached to the base, this fixture can seemingly defy gravity as it can be safely attached to any metal surface, including vertical walls.
The BellHop lamp from Flos originally debuted at Salone Del Mobile in 2017 as a table lamp for the Design Museum in London. Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby created this light as their interpretation of a modern day candle. The quality of light from this piece is soft and diffused, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of evenings spent conversing by candleglow.
More than a lamp, the Dipping Light is meant to excite and entice. Designed by Jordi Canudas, considered an alchemist of light, the Dipping Light is the result of an experiment where he dipped a lit bulb into paints multiple times, hence the name. The layers of paint create concentric circles that when illuminated filter the light through the various colors. When it’s turned off, its colored glass sphere is an eye catching art object
With such a long and prolific design history, we had to include another option by Verner Panton, the Flowerpot lamp. Created in the 60’s as a homage to the Flower Power movement, the design was intended break free of the conventional design elements to promote a modern mentality of peace and harmony.