I am always a big fan of “the simple statement” in a room. Keeping it simple is a real challenge when there are so many great choices out there, and there is one area where I have the biggest challenge, and that is lighting. I am a total lighting geek. I understand how it works, the effects that you can create with it, and how to balance it out in a room, but I have to admit that when I see a beautiful fixture, that all goes out the window. My eyes light up (no pun intended) and I go weak at the knees at the sight of a beautiful fixture. Here are some of my latest obsessions:

My favorite piece at the moment is this one I saw (above) at Dan Marty Design in Los Angeles. It’s not a lot more than a wire basket lined with natural linen. But in reality the effect is so much greater than the sum of the parts. I am dying to find a place to use this; I think in a somewhat modern room it would be perfect. It’s pretty big so it’s going to make a bold statement, so a dining room would be a an ideal spot. I am about to start on a new project in the Hamptons-- I think I have found a piece to build a room around.

Simple, elegant and sculptural, are all words that come to mind with this fixture by Tord Boontje for Swarovski. It was first released back in 2002 but it still represents for me a high point in elegant organic design. The natural branch with crystal lights is such a light delicate piece, it could be used almost anywhere. I could see hanging it low over a table instead of a lamp, or it would also work nicely in a dining room (I’d couple it with recessed light or else it may be a bit dim). Any way that you use it, it will be a piece that will start conversations.

I was out looking for a cool ceiling fixture for my son’s nursery and I think this may be it. I found it at Liz’s Antique Hardware in Los Angeles (if you haven’t been--go NOW). It has a great retro kind of quality to it; it’s not expensive, and it’s orange (finding orange light fixtures is harder than you might think!).

I hope that you see something here that you like and if so, there’ll be more posts when I find my next group of treasures!

Mark Cutler
Interior Designer,
MarkCutlerDesign.com