Lighting the Way: LEDs

Starflex and Connetix by SonnemanSleek, beautiful, modern are just some of the words that describe the LED lighting shown at the recent Architectural Digest Home Design Show. But equally important are the more technical descriptions: green, efficient, long-lasting. We discuss this lighting technology in our interior design course.

Light fixtures with LED lamps are appearing in many stores now and interior designers are finally recommending them to their clients. Philips, the big Dutch lighting company, has reported an increase of 38% in sales of LED bulbs over last year. 

Above is the flexible Starflex pendant from Sonneman. The arms hold LED-lamps that can move up and down in various configurations. On the wall is the Connetix sconce that are available in different sizes.  Below is the Axes lighting - available in singles or multiple arms, in sconces, pendant or floor fixtures. 

Axes sconces by SonnemanBrooklyn-based Bec Brittain offers their version of LED lighting in this hanging pendant called Shy.  Its multiple arms are lit with LED tubes and can be arranged in different ways that recall star constellations.

Shy pendant, courtesy of Bec Brittain

Interested in learning more about green design and lighting?  Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design.  At Sheffield, you will learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories. 

Star Burst! Smart Green Design

(Stellar scraplights, courtesy of Graypants)I was quickly walking by aisles and aisles of furniture and lighting at a furniture fair when this twisting, twinkling form rose up and caught my eye. Could it be a sculpture, a tall narrow cabinet, or a tree? Well, it could just be a little bit of everything. 

The design firm, Graypants, introduced a very exciting line of light fixtures, called the Stellar series of scraplights.  Pictured above, a star shaped floor lamp twists and turns as it rises from the floor. Spilling out in between the grooves is light from the decorative low-energy bulbs.  What makes these light fixtures so special is the material that they’re made from:  corrugated cardboard! 

(Scraplights, courtesy of Graypants)Graypants’ designer, Jonathan Junker, put it best, “Beauty can come from the most unexpected of places and that’s what we are trying to do with our scraplights…”  The Graypants team collect discarded corrugated cardboard boxes from local businesses in the Seattle, Washington area and transform it into these beautiful, fully functional light fixtures.  Used with Plumen, a low-energy bulb that lasts 8 times longer than an incandescent bulb, the scraplights offer a very green design choice that’s also easy on the eye.