{"id":343148,"date":"2024-12-16T14:10:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T19:10:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/blog-api\/?p=343148"},"modified":"2024-12-16T14:10:57","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T19:10:57","slug":"meet-the-designers-perfecting-the-art-of-lighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/meet-the-designers-perfecting-the-art-of-lighting\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Designers Perfecting the Art of Lighting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three female lighting designers blend artistic inspiration and material exploration to illuminate your home, writes Riya Patel<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/i>Dubai-based designer Caroline Coirault-Jonqueres crafting her lamp bases<\/span><\/p>\n

When it came to finding exciting lighting for her own home, the only options for Rowena Morgan-Cox were established design icons or trying her luck with vintage finds. The struggle to source something unique led the British creative to set up <\/span>Palefire Studio<\/span><\/a>: a London atelier making playful lighting in small batches. The venture brings together her background in fine art, and experience working with galleries and high-end design stores. \u201cI knew I wanted to do something decorative, with a lot of pattern and color, and I wanted to have painted surfaces,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

U\/V Collection, Palefire\u2019s debut range of table lamps, wall lights, ceiling and floor lamps are all made from the same material: recycled paper pulp. The raw forms, which come in five shapes that are mixed and matched, are sent to London where Palefire\u2019s team hand-paints them with solid color, such as deep vermilion, or a pattern of wavy lines. \u201cThe paper pulp has this amazing texture, and the hand-painted color brings an intensity that can make it seem like it\u2019s an entirely different material,\u201d says Morgan-Cox.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Palefire\u2019s Rowena Morgan-Cox. Photograph: Kim Lightbody Photography<\/span><\/p>\n

Sustainability is important: natural paints low in volatile compounds\u2014and thus better for humans and the environment\u2014are used for the finish, and research is ongoing into other recycled materials for future projects. \u201cWe try as much as possible to have thoughtful practices without compromising on the aesthetic,\u201d she says. \u201cWe don\u2019t want our lighting to look like it\u2019s recycled. We want it to look exuberant, with those sustainable elements in the background.\u201d Part of that exuberance comes through the shapes these lamps take, inspired by the elegance of art nouveau or the playfulness of postmodernism and 1970s \u201cspace age\u201d design. These are then brought to life by their painterly surfaces, and color palettes that take cues from artists such as postwar painter Helen Frankenthaler.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Pavilion table lamp, in brick, by Palefire. Photograph: Kim Lightbody Photography<\/span><\/p>\n

Another designer identifying a gap in the market for art-led lighting is Dubai-based <\/span>Caroline Coirault-Jonqueres<\/span><\/a>, who observed a lack of options through working on high-end residential interiors. \u201cIn architecture, light is fundamental in shaping the experience of a space,\u201d she says. \u201cYet decorative lighting is often overlooked. It can add real depth and presence to a room.\u201d Inspired by the savoir faire of the craftspeople she had come to know through her work, the designer took the step of sketching out her own lamps for them to make. The resulting line of distinctive table lamps typically features linen shades and chunky, angular bases made in marble, natural oak or scorched cedar. They are currently sold through London gallery The House by M.A.H.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A curved lamp by Caroline Coirault-Jonqueres. Photograph: The House by M.A.H. and Ben Anders<\/span><\/p>\n

Coirault-Jonqueres goes back and forth with the craftspeople via drawings, which are adjusted throughout the making process according to the whims of the material and how the piece is taking shape. \u201cThe skills and knowledge required to work a raw material into an object is what really inspires me,\u201d she says. \u201cMateriality, texture, a joint or a stitching detail\u2026 these small elements are all very significant to the end result.\u201d She is drawn to earthy tones and materials, inspired by the Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy celebrating nature\u2019s imperfections, and which she interprets as: \u201cShowing that something has been made with intention.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lana Launay<\/span><\/a>, a former jewelry designer who works between Sydney and Los Angeles, has a similar fascination with shape and material when it comes to designing sculptural lighting. Her made-to-order line of lamps is characterized by geometric paper shades and carved wood forms. Feels Like Home is a floor lamp standing on tall stacks of wooden spheres that recall beaded plant hangers from the 1970s, but Launay says her aesthetic inspiration is actually 20th-century brutalist sculpture and sci-fi set designs. \u201cI admire the \u2018what if?\u2019 approach that you find in futuristic design, and I love the raw freedom and expression you see in brutalist sculpture and art,\u201d she explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Lana Launay with her modular lamp. Photograph: Nic Gossage<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the avant-garde precedent, Launay\u2019s material palette is strictly natural, including timber, raffia and paper stained by hand. \u201cI have always been drawn towards warm tones\u2014I find them calming and romantic,\u201d she says. \u201cI often use paper, including Japanese washi paper, as a textile because I find the glow (that shines through) more consistent, but the fibers are more unique.\u201d The handmade lamps look incredibly lightweight\u2014but this is also what makes them playful. For the Modular Launay Lamp, five different forms can be assembled as the user desires by threading them, like origami paper beads, onto a standing light source.<\/span><\/p>\n

With warmth, charm and the imagination to look beyond lighting as just purely functional, these designers urge us to never overlook the humble floor or table lamp. \u201cMy designs are like a permanent guest rather than a piece of furniture,\u201d says Launay. \u201cWith my work I want to create an illuminated presence that offers a sense of comfort in a room.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the benefits of living in a colorful home? Find out <\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three female lighting designers blend artistic inspiration and material exploration to illuminate your home, writes Riya Patel Dubai-based designer Caroline Coirault-Jonqueres crafting her lamp bases When it came to finding exciting lighting for her own home, the only options for Rowena Morgan-Cox were established design icons or trying her luck with vintage finds. The struggle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64295786,"featured_media":343149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1393],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-343148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-and-culture"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf4gbL-1rgE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":345914,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/candlemania-the-art-of-traditional-home-lighting\/","url_meta":{"origin":343148,"position":0},"title":"Candlemania: The Art of Traditional Home Lighting\u00a0","author":"Kate Marburger","date":"January 23, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Designers are creating a warm, intimate home atmosphere with candlelight and elevated accessories, writes Francesca Perry Ramona Albert\u2019s Ramus candleholder subtly lights a bedroom. Photograph: Olivia Steuer In an electrified world, we may not need candles, but we certainly long for them, and in the dark days of winter, candlelight\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Home and Design"","block_context":{"text":"Home and Design","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/home-and-design\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Candles","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image1.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":341784,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/inside-an-artful-oasis-in-soma\/","url_meta":{"origin":343148,"position":1},"title":"Inside an Artful Oasis in SoMa","author":"SIR Admin","date":"May 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cTo be successful, you must be able to balance all the details\u2014small and large,\u201d advises Bay Area\u2013based interior designer April Sheldon, who for decades has shared a life and home with renowned graphic designer, artist, and photographer John Casado. 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