Go Big With Hanging Light Fixtures

First thing’s first – we have to talk about this incredible foyer. Boasting the kind of quintessential Los Angeles glamour that calls to mind classic films of the 1930s and 40s, this circular space is largely defined by its terracotta stairs, curlicue railing, and palatial hand-painted ceiling. But the star of the show is the massive chandelier that hangs at the center, drawing your eye as you ascend. If your ceiling height allows, consider finding your own version of this showstopper that fits the scale of your tallest room, and it’ll do double-duty as functional lighting and striking sculpture.

Balance Dark and Light

Don’t be afraid to venture over to the dark side. Deep hues won’t necessarily make your space feel cramped and claustrophobic, as long as you balance them out with brightness nearby. In Leo’s new home, an office lined in rich mahogany-toned wood is complemented by the light-filled hallway outside, and a dramatic dining room with indigo wallpaper and a coffered wood ceiling oozes cozy ambiance while the airy white kitchen sparkles with cheerfulness and optimism.

Prioritize Period Details

All the little details that root your home in a particular time period are part of what makes it special. That doesn’t mean you have to keep your ugly 1990s orange oak trim or pink 1950s bathroom set if they’re not your thing, of course. But if, like Leo, you’re lucky enough to have built-in cabinetry, arched doorways, terracotta tile flooring, or other original features intact, consider restoring them instead of replacing them with contemporary alternatives, even if it takes some extra elbow grease. The connection to your home’s history will feel more authentic, especially in the decades to come.

Stick to Your Home’s Overarching Style

On a similar note, try not to fight your home’s intrinsic style and setting. Leonardo’s Spanish-style home is brimming with old school Southern Californian elegance – imagine how weird it would feel if you took in the exterior and then walked in to see interiors more fit for a hunting cabin or an ultramodern penthouse. Keep your home’s overall tone in mind as you make big interior design decisions like flooring, cabinets, and furnishings, but do mix in your own eclectic influences and personal style to keep the effect from feeling forced.

Embrace Rich, Saturated Color Schemes

Even if the rest of your house has neutral walls, you should think about experimenting with color in at least one room. Leo’s new formal living area, with its lush blue-green walls and ceiling set against amber and gold-toned furniture, is a great example of how bold color choices can completely transform a space. Not only does the color perfectly set off the antique woodwork and flooring, it also makes all the wall art pop. Scared of the commitment? Try it in a bathroom or even a closet first and see how you feel.

Don’t Skimp on Decorating Outdoor Spaces

California’s perpetually mild climate makes outdoor space just as integral to daily living as indoor rooms, so it’s no surprise that these outdoor sitting areas are so well-appointed. Whether you have a whole yard to decorate or just a balcony, grant it your full attention in a way that’s tuned to your own local weather. Choose side tables, lamps, candles, rugs, and other accents that feel like a natural extension of your living room and an expression of your personal style.

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It’s the latter characterization that interests Yuko Nishikawa, a Japanese designer and contemporary ceramicist based in Brooklyn. Her new lighting collection, “You See a Sheep,” is just as much a sculptural installation as it is a series of hanging lamps with organic shapes. If it feels a little disorienting to be surrounded by these strange objects, all the better.

The bulbs are housed within hand-built ceramic shells and suspended by thin metal wire so they appear to float in midair. Holes cut into the paper-like surfaces emit “a mysterious yet warm glow,” and the effect changes depending on how you arrange them, which ones you pair together, and how many you install.

“The title You See a Sheep is inspired by two stories. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, where The Prince finds his favorite sheep in a drawing of a box, and Model T Frankenstein by Hideo Furukawa, which opens with the line “You see a goat,” suggesting that it is in our perception that the goat exists. I mix paper fiber in a wet clay body to achieve strong lightweight shells, using a coiling technique to emphasize the uneven surface and the irregular enclosed forms. Then, once the clay firms up, I cut out the holes. Next, I apply color clay to the surface, and then finally fire them in an electric kiln.”

“This chandelier that you see with 24 ceramic shells was made for the group exhibition ‘In Good Company,’ held in Fernando Mastrangelo Studio | FM/S in New York in September 2018. I saw this exhibition as a celebration of art and design and an opportunity to build a supportive community of the designers and the users. So I designed this chandelier with some shells hanging low to the ground, others floating high, altogether creating a conical volume. It becomes an environment where people can walk through and physically engage with the installation.”

Each one is handmade without a mold, and although the artist roughly reproduces individual designs, they’re all slightly different. They’re especially striking in large installations, but notable alone as well. Each one is also available for purchase. Hoh-Tel, for instance, is a pendant lamp consisting of three “You See a Sheep” ceramic shells — the Hoh-Tel, Key-Low, and Wun-Wun designs — installed with a single canopy. Cables hold the shells aloft while their electrical wires flow a little more loosely, becoming a part of the overall composition.

Nishikawa specializes in “fantastical installations, whimsical lighting, and collectible objet d’art,” all of which perfectly describe this collection. She was raised in a beach town in Tokyo, which clearly influenced her sense of aesthetics. She currently works out of a studio full of furniture handcrafted by her friends and herself in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The post Yuko Nishikawa’s Organic Floating Lamps Made of Handcrafted Ceramic Shells first appeared on Dornob.

Halo by Manooi

Taking its name from the optical phenomenon that sometimes seems to form a circle around the sun or moon, “HALO” is a minimalist chandelier made of Swarovski crystals applied to a galvanized bowden cable affixed with LED lights. The circular design, which can be layered in various sizes, is hung horizontally or vertically, either secured to a wall or suspended from the ceiling. Designed by János Héder, HALO casts sparkling refractions of light throughout the room, whether it’s turned on or glittering in natural daylight.

Ice Chandelier by Daniel Libeskind

It’s no surprise that this chandelier was designed by an architect, given its skyscraper-like arrangement of clear glass, which protrudes from the base like a city block. Daniel Libeskind’s signature ultramodernism translates beautifully to interior accents, taking a fresh look at overhead lighting by discarding tired conventions to bring something new to the table. The Ice Chandelier features glass cells blown into angular molds for a frozen effect. The glass is suspended from a reflective triangular plate, which can be arranged in groupings to create larger-scale lighting installations. The glass elements were hand-blown by glassworkers at the Czech Republic factory of lighting brand Lasvit.
“It is so gratifying to collaborate with skilled workers whose expertise derives from centuries of design intelligence and artistic ambition, yet who are willing to experiment and do things differently to help realize my ideas,” says Libeskind. ”I am always mindful when designing products, just as I am as an architect, to create something truly unique and functional.”

Sparks for Swarovski Crystal Palace by Gwenael Nicolas

Swarovski crystals get yet another modern makeover in the hands of Gwenael Nicolas of the Japanese design studio Curiosity. “Sparks” is an illuminated swag that hangs from one corner of the room to another. Part of an art installation at the Swarovski Crystal Palace, which also included LED lights floating in helium balloons, the design is more than it seems at first glance. The individual crystals produce tiny refractions which seem to leap across the room like electrical sparks. While most people aren’t going to want a swag of crystal lights hanging so low in their homes, it would look pretty cool pulled more taut across the ceiling.

Planet by Tokujin Yoshioka

This faceted globe glitters like an icy jewel, whether placed on a stand like a table lamp or held in the hands of its designer, Tokujin Yoshioka. Created for the Italian furniture brand Kartell, “Planet” diffuses luminosity randomly through a lens effect as the light passes through various thicknesses of transparent resin.

The post Crystal Light: Four Icy Lamps Marry Warmth and Wintry Visuals first appeared on Dornob.

Crystals seeded onto discarded French chandeliers and candelabras literally bloom like flowers over time, growing as if they’re alive. For his ‘Overgrown’ collection, artist Mark Sturkenboom accumulated unwanted objects and utterly transformed them, taking ‘trash to treasure’ to a whole new level. The chunky, irregular crystals are reminiscent of ice or salt and have a wild, uncontrollable appearance, mimicking what much of the Earth might look like if humans disappeared and it were left to its own devices.

That’s the idea behind the series, says Sturkenboom, who envisions “relics from a desolate flooded world.” After poring through junk shops and curbside toss-aways for antique brass chandeliers in Paris, the designer plated them in 14 karat gold and coated them in a crystal growing fluid he brewed himself, creating “the perfect conditions to set a hyperevolution in motion.”

The pieces in the Overgrown collection are presented in their finished state, but it would have been cool to see the whole process as the crystals developed, changing the shape of each object over time. They definitely look like they could have been pulled from the frozen sea a few thousand years from now, as the artist intended. They’re available via Sturkenboom’s website, ranging from 850-1200 euros.

More from the artist

“Our world is cluttered with stuff, how would the world look like a few thousand years from now? Overgrown is a series of chandeliers and candelabra that appear to be relics from that desolate flooded world where the influence of time is key. A theme that’s intertwined with Sturkenboom’s oeuvre. Atelier Mark Sturkenboom designed a fluid, based on minerals, which allows objects to grow crystals over a period of time.”

“He reclaimed antique French chandeliers and candelabra and created the perfect conditions to set a hyper-evolution in motion where every object grows out to be a unique piece, a modern interpretation of a crystal chandelier. These pieces are part of Sturkenboom’s ongoing fascination of the influence that hyper-deterioration has on modern life, glimpsing in the future. It is also possible for us to transform museum pieces, inheritance pieces or special objects to your liking.”

The post Old French Chandeliers Become Living Lights When Seeded with Crystals first appeared on Dornob.

As much art as lighting, this suspended sculpture uses shadow and scale to mimic roots and trees inside spaces, recreating a forest effect for home interiors.

Designed by Hilden & Diaz, it was “partly inspired by [Darwinist] Ernst Haeckel’s (1834-1919) detailed plots from nature” and “is mirrored around it’s horizontal central axis and forms a circle 360 degrees around the light source.”

When not illuminated, the object at the center of the projection is attractive yet relatively small and unremarkable, making it a source of not just light but also surprise when it is turned on.

Though originally developed as a one-off, thanks to overwhelming positive feedback, the designers are now also planning to put the project up on Kickstarter to fund further development and deployment.

“The Light sculpture Forms in Nature resembles Darwinist Ernst Haeckel’s drawings . Using a simple action, such as intensifying the brightness at the center of the artwork, the light transforms the space and adds character, as the work throws oversized shadows onto walls and ceilings in the space in which it hangs.”

“The light sculpture Forms in Nature is partly inspired by Ernst Haeckel’s (1834- 1919) detailed plots from nature and is a further development of Hilden & Diaz’ fascination with mirrorings, as they have previously applied in other artworks.”

“Forms in Nature is a artwork with a light source surrounded by a dense and unruly tree and root system created in miniature sculpture. The forest is mirrored around it’s horizontal central axis and forms a circle 360 degrees around the light source and thereby leads one onto the notion of a real world versus an underworld.”

“Interestingly, the roots are those elements of the forest that are the most visible. Thereby the sculpture is not only mirrored, but also turned upside down in Hilden & Diaz’ artwork. As the intensity of the light source increases, the room changes and the space slowly becomes more and more fascinating and unheimlich.”

The post Branch Chandelier Casts Forests on Walls first appeared on Dornob.

Some of us go to great lengths to forget how drab it is outside our home on a rainy day, but for those who want to celebrate the sunless sky, this device brings the weather to you. Developed by experimental Swiss studio Micasa Lab, the Nebula 12 is a cloud lamp connected to wifi that produces its own puffs of steam to mimic the weather outside.

Of course, it works for daylight-lovers as well, in its way, changing color over the course of our daily solar cycle to the transitions from reddish sunrise to purple sunsets.

“Nebula 12 can, like a natural cloud, change in color and brightness and thus can be used as a variable source of light for romantic evening meals, when doing homework, when reading or just chatting.”

Tapped into the outside world via wifi, The Nebula 12 remixes liquid nitrogen and hot water, then uses suction to keep it in place. And for those who wish to mix things up a bit, it can be manually controlled as well, or tied into the news (good for sun, bad for clouds) and so forth, too.

“In the standard mode, Nebula 12 predicts the weather for the next 48 hours. A threatening low-pressure area is announced by a red cloud, and sunshine is shown in yellow. At the same time, the user can adjust the settings and define the source of information themselves. And the best is: regardless of how dark the cloud is, Nebula 12 never brings any rain. At least, not within one’s own four walls.”

One has to wonder how it affects the feel of your home to have a cloud of liquid nitrogen steam hanging out all the time – could it produce humidity issues? But as a novelty, it’s pretty creative, and a fun way to impress your guests.

The post Lamp Made of Steam Responds to the Weather Outside first appeared on Dornob.

Lighting in a home may create different types of effects depending on its placement or its brightness, but one fixture rarely has the flexibility of this chandelier. Called “The Rhythm of Light,” the piece is equal parts art and functional home object. According to the artist behind the project, Susanne de Graef, the chandelier is meant to mimic the natural rising and setting of our natural light source, the sun.

The layers of the lamp move up or down depending on the user’s mood, altering the light just as the sun’s light changes throughout the day. Editing the amount of light diffusion allows the chandelier to provide a dynamic room interior that static, unchanging light can never accomplish.

“A day begins, the sun rises. The sun starts her daily rhythm, she rises and she sets, This is a never-ending story with a beginning and an end, it repeats itself every day. The light we use in our houses is very static, almost like it’s something that’s frozen, But light is not something that is static, it lives. Light is movement, it has its own rhythm. I designed a lamp with its own rhythm. The user decides the rhythm of the lamp by moving the lamp up and down, the layers mingle, the light gets diffuse and the layers turn into a game of colors.”

The artist, known for producing fine lighting with a creative twist, also released “The Rhythm of Light” in rainbow and silver versions.

“The fine threads display the spectrum of the rainbow. The shape and it’s structure is inspired by the crinoline ( a 19th century hoop skirt) . In the centre, diffused light from the singular bulb scatters, creating a lively interplay of light and shadow. The light can be installed in two different positions, allowing for a variety in form and appearance.”

The post Dynamic Chandelier Mimics Natural Sunlight first appeared on Dornob.

Dominic Wilcox explains a little more about his work: “I had a bag of polystyrene balls under my desk for a year. I liked to look and feel of them, they seemed to have potential but I wasn’t sure what direction that potential could lead. One day I put a light bulb in the bag, it looked interesting. While experimenting with polystyrene balls and mixing them with different glues and resins I created some ball objects. I noticed that light passed through the balls in a similar way to light passing through a cloud. One of my experiments lead to a ceiling light called Nimbus.”

While it isn’t the only cloud light in town, there is something less literal and more whimsical about it than some of its creative counterparts like this Cloud Suspension Lamp shown below. Made by Circu, that lamp is made of an innovative squishy-soft material and has a light and sound system controlled by mobile app.

About designer Dominic Wilcox

Dominic Wilcox is a British designer who creates unique and innovative objects, drawings and installations. His work has been exhibited and published extensively worldwide.

“I spend most of my time attempting to reveal the hidden surprises which are embedded within the banal, everyday things that surround us.”

“I’m interested in certain areas of contemporary art, craft and design and my work moves between many different areas of creative expression. Some of my ideas develop from observations on human behaviour and I express them through the objects I create. I also experiment with materials to find surprises that can’t be found simply by thinking with a pen or computer.”

The post Floating Cloud Lamps Bring on the Whimsical Fun first appeared on Dornob.

If you’re looking for high end modern chandeliers with an edge, Brand Van Egmond is one designer you definitely need to check out. Their creations aren’t just unique ways to light a room; they’re sculptural centerpieces that will definitely get people talking.

These multi-sized lighting designs vary from complex modernizations of traditional chandelier shapes to combinations you’d never expect. Check out the photo frame chandelier, which combines the technology of a digital photograph frame with the multi-directional light supplied by a more typical fixture. The result: an elegant mix of dynamic memories and useful lights.

The small size features two circles composed of six frames, each storing a gigabyte of photographic (or other image) material that can be displayed as a static series of rotating set of visuals. The larger one works on the same principal but alternates blank black faces with active digital displays, showing up to eighteen images at once.

While these design by Brand van Egmond might be a bit much as a residential fixture (though certainly an interesting conversation piece for, say, a home living room) it seems likely that these will also turn into marketing tools or perhaps even informational displays. Think about your local mall or department store: dedicated maps and information guides could be replaced by these high-tech, visually-integrated lighting elements. But beyond the photo-oriented design, Brand van Egmond’s modern chandeliers are incredible eye candy, often with exciting silhouettes you won’t find anywhere else.

From a company known for its offbeat flower-shaped steel chandeliers and other more-artistic fixtures, this is a somewhat refreshing design – not just for being more modern or minimalist, but for also tapping into contemporary cultures and technologies of the times.

About Brand Van Egmond

“Founded in 1989, the atelier was established with the sole intention to create without any restraints. Trained as an architect, William Brand soon evolved into a sculptor. In his hands, the atelier become a leading force in the crafting of lighting sculptures. What begins as a simple sketch with William’s pen, results in a handcrafted lighting sculpture. Only the most trained hands can translate the artist’s idea into faultless reality.”

The post Modern Chandeliers by Brand Van Egmond Shatter Your Lighting Expectations first appeared on Dornob.