New Designs Make Table Lamps and Floor Lamps More Desirable
Lately it seems like ceiling light fixtures are getting all the attention — chandeliers, pendants and suspended arrangements. Equally important, both from the perspective of design and functionality, are table and floor lamps. They’re necessary for reading, task lighting, bedside lighting and mood illumination. Fortunately, there are so many designs to choose from that selection the right table lamp or floor lamp for your living space is easier than ever. At the recent ICFF 2016, we found lots of beautiful, as well as technologically advanced, designs.
Adesso’s Kiu table lamp is from German industrial designer Hans Nopper. The LED desk lamp has an adjustable arm that extends anywhere from from 0″ to 18. It also adjusts 45° up and down. The honeycomb shade is made of magnesium and the round chrome base is 5″ tall. The Kiu, with an adjustable shade, swivels a full 360°.
Santa & Cole also presented this lamp designed by Spain’s Antoni Arola. Named “Sin,” the company says that it “owes its name to the many things it does without…,it marries tradition and technology with the sobriety of a classic. Available in two sizes, it can be used with or without the shade and has an adjustable light flow. It is elegant and eminently functional.
The PH table lamp from Louis Poulsen is 100% glare-free, thanks to a reflective three-shade system. It works by directing most of the light downward, aided by the white painted lower surface of the top shade. The top of the spun aluminum, powder-coated shade can be finished in red, green, yellow or white. The opal glass shades are shiny on the outside and matte on the inside. the base also comes in several finishes.
Designed by Mark Holmes in 2003, the LT01 SEAM ONE from Stillfried is a modern reinterpretation of a classic table lamp. The design uses a minimal number of elements and comes in a range of colors. The color you choose –whether a neutral white or a bold neon — helps determine how much of a bold statement the lamp will make. The entire fixture is made from sheet aluminum that is powder coated.
Small and spare, the Cosy in Grey table lamp from Muuto makes a soft but design-forward statement. The central feature of the fixture — the bulb within — is highlighted by the full, mouth-blown glass structure. Designed by Harri Koskinen, it is made of smoked grey glass and has a transparent PVC cord with a dimmer. Muuto calls itself the “New Nordic” because it is rooted in the Scandinavian design tradition of enduring aesthetics, functionality, craftsmanship and an honest expression, but made modern through new materials, techniques and bold creative thinking,
A number of designers from Norway were featured in the “Inside Norway” booth at ICFF 2016 in New York. Oslo-based Northern Lighting created this lovely lamp, called “Say My Name.” While the mouth-blown piece is made in Italy of Venetian glass, the design is Nordic, created by Morten & Jonas. Its smooth surface and unembellished form is distinctly contemporary Scandinavian style. The colors of glass reflect are meant to evoke the Nordic night sky, light of the fjords and smooth surface of calm water. It can be used as a table lamp or hung as a pendant.
The Vosay Collection, a lifestyle brand based in New York and Brazil, made its debut at ICFF 2016 with one-of-a-kind dining, accent, and coffee tables made from whole roots of exotic hardwood Brazilian Sucupira trees. While they are all stunning pieces, this spare little lamp, with its striped metallic shade caught our eye. The name, Vosay, is derived from the Portuguese word você, which means “you.” Founder and creative director Nana Balfour said the company focuses on products that are unique and sustainable products, and the are “collaborations of art and nature.”
Muuto also presented task lighting in the for of the Leaf. This table lamp is Inspired by the leaves on a tree, and the silhouette changes on the positioning of the lamp’s shade and your viewing angle. Available in two sizes, the Leaf all comes with a dimming function. Designed by Swedish design partners Mats Broberg and Johan Ridderstrale, the lamp has their trademark aesthetic rationality and “touch of humor and wit.”
The NJP Lamp designed by Nendo and presented by Louis Poulsen is another stylish desk or table lamp. It gives off direct glare-free horizontal light and rejects a little bit of the light through the back of the lamp head, which shines on the the top of the arm. The simple mechanics allow it to move freely to be adjusted as you require. Available in black or white powder coated aluminum, the shade is painted white on the inside. reflecting comfortable diffused light. The base is made of steel.
Straddling the worlds of lighting and art is this table fixture by SkLO of the Czech Republic. Named for the Czech word for glass, the company creates designs that “celebrate the nature of the handmade, the imperfect, the imprecise.” It is the studio’s signature piece and is made from a continuous length of a wound, hand blown Czech glass tube. The bulb hangs inside the glass piece. It is a separate brass socket with an attached handmade brass hook that attaches it to the glass wrap. No two exactly alike and the fixture can be had in 18 different glass colors.
The Cypres floor lamp is by Brabbu and is meant to evoke the cypress tree, long a source of inspiration in for many artists. Brabbu says that the lamp “stands strong like the tree with its four gold plated brass sprouts emerging from the Carrara marble base.” The individual lights are like the tree’s seed cones. Brabbu is known for its handmade and mid-century modern lighting creations.
Cerno, in collaboration with Desiron /Frank Carfaro Hand-Crafted American Furniture, presented the Forma Table Lamp. Designer Nick Sheridan said that he and Carfare designed this more traditional fixture in a way “that embraced both Cerno and Desiron’s aesthetic, without deviating too much from either brand’s design language.” The base is made from walnut or dark-stained walnut, topped by a shade in black, white or burlap.
The Maija Lamp from Santa & Cole are a re-edited version of the 1955 design by Finnish designer Imari Tapiovaara. Available as a table lamp or a hanging pendant, the fixture’s translucent white glass diffuser helps soften and focus the light. The company says the lamp is meant to conjure the feeling of Baltic light from the inside outwards. The shape is also said to be reminiscent of a honeycomb belonging to a naughty honey bee named Maya that features in children’s stories and cartoons.
Juniper Design presented this handsome little light in a rosy polished copper finish. Beyond its lovely design, the coolest thing about the M2 lamp is that it’s wireless. Powered by an integrated lithium battery, It can go anywhere. It was designed by British designer David Irwin and was inspired by miner’s lamps of 19th century North East England. The new version has a head that rotates a full 360 degrees, along with upgraded controls and greater stability.
Pablo Designs introduced its Giraffa desk light at ICFF 2016. The playful, little desk lamp works anywhere at home or in your office: on your desk, atop a nightstand, or is reading nook. The shade turns a full 360° giving this little guy powerful lighting functionality. It is available in brushed copper, black anodized aluminum and gloss white lacquer. the LED light source is dimmable.
Take a traditional table lamp design and give it to a modern design and what to you get? The Tube Top table lamp designed by Peter Stathis for Pablo Designs. The fixture sports a transparent, sculpted acrylic base with a lightweight mesh shade. Pictured here in a versatile brown, it’s also available in a range of colorful options, as well as floor and pendant models.
We were happy to see the British company at ICFF 2016 because for us it was love at first sight. While Anglepoise has been around for a long time, the company was in 2005 approached by the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre (in deference to the beloved Anglepoise® lamp that Dahl used in his writing hut), to create a giant version — hence the Original Giant 1227™. This big pink version is just awesome.
A new spin on the floor lamp is the ‘Lean’ light from FEYZ Architecture and Design Studio. It was designed as a sculptural piece that casually leans against the wall. The metal tube goes directly through the globe light. The large 12” glass globes are all hand-made and accented with gold leaf. THE 7′ tall hardware is made from brass and the entire fixture can be customized.
Lightexture’s Iris Floor Lamp has two openings that adjust, changing the light;s direction and projections. The fixture has a reflective interior of that casts intricately patterned reflections. Handmade in Upstate New York, the Iris lamps have a patented mechanism for the overlapping leaves first explored in the company’s Steamlight series.
Pablo’s Circa floor lamp is just as technologically advanced as it looks. Not only does it feature a large, round LED panel, it includes a USB charging port on the table, floor and wall models. Pablo Studio designers set out to create a lamp that “blurs the boundary between the utilitarian work lamp and traditional shaded lamp.” We would agree that they did it!
We’ve barely made a dent in all the new lighting fixtures that are available in floor and table models. Whether you want to spruce up your space or just want more lighting, there are stylish options to be had. You don’t need to settle for a traditional table lamp if you don’t want one.