Sculptural wall lamps bring an otherworldly aura inspired by sunflowers

A lot of designs these days take their cue from nature, perhaps the greatest designer that ever existed. Some simply use natural forms as their starting point while others imitate them almost completely. Yet there are also others who try to interpret organic shapes in a different way, resulting in a design that is both familiar yet almost alien. This wall lighting, for example, takes inspiration from the tiny disk flowers inside a beautiful sunflower, but the play of light and shadows gives it an almost hypnotic appearance, whether the lamp is actually on or not.

Designer: Rollo Bryant

It’s probably not common knowledge, but the flower that most people “see” when looking at a sunflower is actually a flower head that’s made up of a bunch of tiny flowers called disk florets. It’s a rather unique arrangement that becomes even more enchanting when you learn about it, giving the sunflower an otherworldly character. That’s the kind of character that the Aureole collection of wall-mounted lighting tries to embody, not just in its appearance but also in the material used to create its mesmerizing form.

The lamps use quartz sand for its main body, a material that’s often used for moulds that are then used to create other objects. In Aureole, however, the sand is the final product instead, and its production pushes the envelope of both what the material can be used for as well as the 3D printing technology employed for creating the complex structures of the lamp’s shape.

That shape is almost like a maze of intersecting curves or an array of raised bits swirling around the center, trying to recreate the appearance of those disk florets without being too literal. They only suggest the general shape of the sunflower head but still leave plenty of room for artistic interpretation. Closer inspection reveals a more intricate network of lines and curves, almost like the structures that bees and ants leave behind in their hives and homes. While completely natural in inspiration, it almost gives the lamp an alien-like vibe as well.

Once the light shines from beneath an opaque black disc in the center, the wall-mounting lighting takes on a completely different personality, ethereal and mesmerizing. Thanks to those complex 3D structures, the light casts shadows in unique and intricate ways, creating an eerie atmosphere that seems to lock your eyes in a swirling spiral of yellow and black contrasts. Because the light is coming from behind the disc, there is also an element of mystery to the aesthetic, as if watching a solar eclipse corona burst into a dizzying pattern. Either way, the Aureole wall lamps definitely captivate people’s minds and imagination, a true conversation starter in any setting.

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Upcycled skateboard factory rejects transform into warm wall lighting

Recycling is a great way to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, but the process itself can sometimes have some negative impact. There’s still a lot of energy and water involved in converting materials into something usable again, and there’s also some loss when the original design gets destroyed in the process. Upcycling is a more efficient and time-saving alternative, but not everything can be upcycled and not everything that can be upcycled can be used in newer and better ways. Sometimes, it takes a bit more creative thinking to transform one thing into a completely different thing, like how factory seconds from skateboard manufacturers are turned into these understated yet elegant wall lamps.

Designers: Michael and Mariel Upton

Skateboards are objects that bring up images of speed, tricks, and devilish stunts. They’re hardly associated with warmth, subtlety, or even light. Of course, these associations aren’t inherent in the shape of the skateboard’s wooden deck, which makes them open for reuse and reinterpretation, as the case of this trio of wall lamps demonstrates, providing stylish lighting that hardly gives a clue to their origins.

Considering the long oval shapes of skateboard decks, not to mention their upward curved ends, you definitely wouldn’t be able to guess that these wall lights are exactly made from those wooden parts. That’s because these pieces of 7-ply maple wood are taken from factory rejects, decks that obviously didn’t make the cut. Since the shapes of these boards are too specific for general use, they often end up simply being discarded. They’re thankfully made from wood, so they’re biodegradable and have fewer harmful effects on the environment, but they’re still waste and, more importantly, wasted opportunity.

Upton thankfully has the wonderful idea of using those boards to provide ambient lighting as well as a piece of minimalist wall art. The discarded decks are cut to create a shorter and straighter oval shape and then paired with lighting hardware on the back. Each of the three variants, namely, Heru, Cuna, and Mara, get a square piece of original art that becomes the visual center of the entire fixture. With this, even if the light is off, the designs act as decorative pieces that enhance a room’s ambiance in a subtle way.

When the light is on, however, you get a warm ambient halo of light that sets a calming and relaxing mood in any space. The light is emitted from the back and is reflected on the mounting surface, making it look softer and avoiding painful glare when you look in its direction. The wall lamp projects a character of calm and warmth, definitely not something you’d expect from a speedster skateboard that it would have become in some other lifetime.

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Innovative & Playful Blown-Glass Wall Light Will Add A Pop Of Fun To Your Living Room

Gone are the days when lighting designs were boring and typically designed objects that did nothing but add light to a living space. A well-designed lighting fixture should not only have the ability to illuminate any living space but also add that extra oomph factor! I mean, of course, we need them to see in the dark, but as highly functional as they should be, a lighting fixture also needs to be aesthetically pleasing, adding an attractive and visually soothing element to your home or office space. And, a super cool lighting design for your home would be the Poke Wall Light by Daniel Emma for Jam.

Designer: Daniel Emma for Jam

Launched by Australian craft organization JamFactory, the Jam is a collection of furniture, lighting, and objects, which includes a stunning blown-glass Poke wall light. The wall light is designed by the Adelaide-based studio Daniel Emma. The Jam collection is described as being “uniquely Australian”, and the Poke light is “innovative and playful” by the JamFactory. The collection is designed to add a “pop of fun and color” to the walls of your home.

The Poke wall light is built using glass blown in JamFactory’s glass studio in Adelaide, Australia. The wall light is equipped with an organically shaped sphere and is available in rosy Apricot or greyish Tourmaline color, with a small cylindrical roster diffuser protruding in the center. The spheres are given a wobbly shape, each with its own unique form since the glass is blown freely. The lamps are used together in a group, creating a charming space, in a hallway or dining space, or on the sides of your bed.

The Poke wall light is available in a clear or frosted finish, with a simple minimalist form that is perfect for both classic and contemporary interiors. You can pick the finish that perfectly matches your living space, to add an ethereal and elegant lighting element to your home. You could also add other designs from the Jam collection, to create a living space that perfectly represents your personal taste.

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A wall light that’s out of this world!

A child’s imagination is a powerful thing, so why not encourage this by surrounding them with sources of inspiration? The Mystic lamp carries a witty and characterful form that looks right at home within the playful surroundings of a child’s playroom. The quirky UFO gives the child an entirely new world to explore, where their imagination leads to limitless creating! The lighting emits as an eerie beam that gently illuminates the room! Operation is a simple as flicking a switch; a button located on the underside of the device makes the battery-operated light a breeze to turn on and off!

Designer: Jonggun Kim