The latest advances in lighting technology for the home are on display in these seven stately specimens.
With color temperature sliders and LED lighting guides that create a diffuse glow, these lamps are able to set any kind of mood. They’re also designed to multitask; some are safe for use indoors and out, wireless models can be carried from room to room, and others are designed for workday productivity as well as bedtime reading.
An added bonus: They’re gentler on the planet, using recycled and renewable materials along with 3D-printing manufacturing techniques that fabricate them on demand. You’ll surely find something here that turns you on.
Words by Boone Ashworth, Michael Calore, Julian Chokkattu, and Jeremy White. Photographs by Andria Lo
Flos IC Floor Lamp
Flos’ floor lamp has an ethereal quality—a floating orb suspended on a slim metal frame. By all rights, it feels as though the frosted glass sphere should tip out of balance, fall, and shatter into a thousand pieces on the floor, but there it hangs. It feels right at home in any stately study, as its right-angle arm hooks inward to hover over the edge of a chair or sofa or pop out of a corner to brighten the room. To tailor it to your space, choose both the frame’s finish and height (either 53 or 73 inches) at checkout. $1,115 and up at dwr.com
Gantri Pier Small Wireless
This simple, cordless light is part of a new product line cocurated by 3D-printed lighting company Gantri and design bigwigs Ammunition, the firm behind the Ember mug and Beats by Dre headphones. The glam lamp’s looks are inspired by the nature and infrastructure of San Francisco, the hometown of both companies, nodding to the support beams of the bayside piers and the architectural curves of Chinatown’s historic buildings. Gantri’s unique manufacturing process—the lamp’s body is 3D-printed from sugarcane-based polymers, then finished by hand and painted in one of 25 vibrant colors—gives each light a smooth, matte texture. It feels just as nice to carry it around as it does to sit and read beside it. A wireless charging base gasses up the 8-inch-tall lamp for 10-plus hours of battery-powered illumination. $348 at gantri.com
Wooj Cordless Camp Lantern
Take your pick of Wooj’s accent lamps and tabletop beacons, or take our lead and go straight for this cordless lamp that works in any setting. The Brooklyn studio designed the lantern to mimic the type of gourds used in West Africa to carry water and in Japan to carry sake. The result is a 7-inch-tall lamp that can be comfortably toted wherever you go. A paracord sling handle makes it easy to hang on a hook in the dining room or carry it outside. Outside? Yes, the cordless lamp is powered by a USB-C-rechargeable battery and can run for up to 80 hours on a single charge. There are three dim-to-warm brightness settings; just know the run time will drop to about 15 hours on the brightest mode. For eco-credentials, the shade is made from recycled thermoplastic, while the base is recycled aluminum. $135 at wooj.com
Snow Peak Rechargeable Mini Hozuki
Dining by candlelight is always romantic, but maybe not always practical. Snow Peak’s 2.4-inch ball of a lantern is designed to replicate candlelight in the great outdoors, but it works just as well for homebodies. Use one or a few Hozukis to add a dash of low-light ambience to porch hangs or late-night wind-downs. The magnetic clip on the top makes for easy hanging too. Charge it up with a USB-C cable (the charge port is hidden beneath the soft silicone shade) and get up to 100 hours of light. It puts out 60 lumens on the highest setting, which is about the same as three or four candles. There’s even a flicker setting that emulates the dreamy flutter of a real flame. $70 at snowpeak.com
Lume Cube Edge Light 2.0
It may not have the smooth articulation of pricier task lamps—you’ll need two hands to properly adjust the Edge Light 2.0’s four pivot points into the correct angle—but it’s hundreds of dollars more affordable. The 6-inch light head twists, so you can position it facing down over your computer, then turn it to face you when you start a video call. Use the touch-sensitive buttons to tweak the color temperature, cranking it to daylight-like 7,500K during working hours, then down to a soft and warm 2,700K before bed. You can adjust the brightness with a slide of the finger, too. The controls live on the base, but Lume Cube sells a desk-clamp version with the controls on the arm. $170 at lumecube.com
Humanscale Nova Task Light
When you articulate Humanscale’s Nova task light to brighten a different part of your workspace, you’ll marvel at how it feels almost entirely frictionless. Grab the stem and glide it effortlessly into whatever position you want, allowing you to angle the arms and the light head just so and have it stay put without slipping, all with zero time spent fussing with tension knobs. The warm LEDs evenly light up the surface below thanks to a diffusing lighting guide (similar to how a Kindle’s backlight works) that generates a soft, even glow instead of a direct beam. You can even rely on the infrared sensor to turn the lamp on automatically when you get to work and turn it off 15 minutes after you step away. Get it in black, white, or gray, and configure it with a round base, a wall mount, or a desk clamp. $541 at humanscale.com
Soltech Aura Ambient Grow Light
Soft, beautiful light—it’s what plants crave. Soltech makes gorgeous grow lights for the home, and the Aura is the company’s latest. Dreamed up by designer Matteo Ragni and crafted in Turin, Italy, the Aura puts out 360 degrees of dimmable, full-spectrum light. It’s tuned to a color temperature of 3,000K, a warm, white light with a bit of a yellowish tint that’s friendly to plants while being easy on human eyes. The globe stands just over 13 inches tall atop the alder base, and since the lamp is designed for close-range lighting, it works best if you place it among or between the plants that can make the most of its nurturing glow. Or, just place it next to your chill-out chair near the record player and enjoy its perpetual sunset vibes. $250 at Soltech.com
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