For the love of light

Ask any artist and they will tell you just how important light is to their work.  It is just as important in interior design but also very faceted.  For interior design, light has more than one purpose and, perhaps unique to interior design, the piece used to provide that light equally contributes to the aesthetic.  I consider lighting in every room I design.

Functionally speaking, there are three main types of lighting – general (illuminating the entire space for overall visibility), task (focused lighting for specific tasks, like cooking, working, etc.) and accent (used to direct attention). However, interior design is where function and form can meet to spectacular effect and I have chosen two fabulous examples to show you just how this can be done.

TIZIO

The Tizio oozes style while also offering both mood and directional lighting. This stunning, functional piece, created by Richard Sapper for Artemide in 1972, sent ripples through the interior design world and was honoured with the Compasso d’Oro industrial design award in 1979.  Such was its impact and its style that it is now part of the collections of both New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art.

 

THE BEAT

A far more recent, though equally impressive design piece for me, is the Beat range of pendant lights created in 2006 by Tom Dixon.

Taking his inspiration from brass cooking pots used in Northern India, Tom Dixon created a range of functional lighting pieces that are also beautifully sculptural.  They can be used alone, in a series of one shape, or in a cluster or combination of the different shapes (as seen in the image above).

All pendant lights work brilliantly over a dining table – they combine directional lighting with a sense of drama and mood.  In the case of the Beat pendants, the sculptural beauty of the pieces adds substance to the drama as well as a feeling of intimacy that enhances any situation.

The many shining stars of the industrial design world – both past and present – mean that interior designers are spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting beautiful, functional pieces for our clients’ homes. When it comes to lighting however, these two pieces outshine the rest!

Available from:

Tizio: artemide

02 9699 8472

artemide.com.au

The Beat: dedece

dedece.com

02 9360 2722

Photo credits:

Tizio: stylepark.com

The Beat: hauslondon.com