The Sustainable Lighting Edit
I have very little patience for the big light. A room can be beautifully furnished, beautifully painted and filled with things you genuinely love, but switch on one harsh ceiling light and suddenly it feels like a waiting room. Warm, cozy lighting makes an evening. A warm pool of light on a side table, a lamp glowing quietly in the corner, something sculptural catching your eye even when it's switched off. And really, why shouldn't the lamp itself be beautiful? We spend so much time choosing sofas and chairs and rugs, yet lighting is often treated as an afterthought. I'd rather have one exceptional lamp than three forgettable ones.
For this edit, we've looked for pieces that are worth making room for. Beautiful designs from brands that are also doing the right thing with their materials, manufacturing and longevity. Nothing here has been included simply because it calls itself sustainable. These are designers doing something genuinely interesting with the way we light our homes, without asking us to give up on beautiful things.
Tala
Tala approaches sustainable lighting from a distinctly contemporary perspective. The British lighting company is a certified B Corp, with circular design, durability and repair central to its approach. It also works with reforestation partners, maintains transparency across its supply chain and uses plastic free packaging.
The lighting is modern and architectural, with the bulbs themselves designed to be seen rather than concealed.
Mantle was designed to cast light downwards onto a table or surface, with a slender form and integrated handle that makes it easy to move around the home.
The Posset Yellow finish adds a confident touch of colour, while the cordless rechargeable design makes it particularly suited to dining tables, side tables and outdoor entertaining.
Loop is made from aluminium, chosen for its ability to be recycled repeatedly, and paired with Tala's Sphere IV LED bulb.
Its sculptural form and gold finish give it a quietly glamorous quality, while the softly rounded bulb creates a warm, atmospheric light. It would be perfect for a console, side table or desk.
Knuckle combines a solid oak base with a brass or gunmetal finish and Tala's distinctive Voronoi I LED bulb.
The irregular glass form creates unusual reflections and refractions when illuminated, while the integrated dimmer allows the light to be adjusted from brighter task lighting to something softer and more atmospheric.
ROGO Studios
ROGO Studios is doing something rather clever with waste. Its lamps are made in small batches in Warwickshire using recycled materials sourced in the UK, including filament made from reclaimed fishing nets and industrial plastic. Everything is made by hand, with the lamps designed for longevity and repair. There's no unnecessary journey around the world for the raw materials either, and even the packaging is plastic free. This is what sustainable design should look like.
The Seed is a rechargeable, cordless little lamp made from recycled PLA. It can go wherever the evening takes you, which is useful when the table you've just set so beautifully happens to be nowhere near a socket.
The Amber finish has a warm, honeyed quality, casting a rich and atmospheric light. Paired with natural wood, linen and earthy tones, it brings warmth and depth to a dining table or living space.
The Pip is ROGO Studios' smallest lamp, a compact mushroom shaped design 3D printed in the UK from recycled PLA. Its base is weighted with recycled steel, giving the small form a satisfying sense of solidity.
Designed for smaller spaces, it works beautifully on a bedside table, bookshelf, desk or bathroom surface. The recycled PLA diffuses the light into a soft, warm glow, while its compact proportions make it particularly effective when grouped together along a dining table, mantelpiece or windowsill.
Palefire Studio
Palefire Studio creates sculptural lighting in its London studio, producing each piece to order through small independent workshops. The lamps are made from paper pulp created using recycled paper, then hand painted and finished individually.
The studio uses paint produced with 100 percent geothermal energy, recyclable packaging and a small scale production process designed to minimise waste.
Parasol takes its elegant proportions from Art Nouveau lighting, with a tall stem and weighted base that make it particularly suited to reading or creating a focused pool of light.
Its paper pulp construction gives the surface a tactile, almost ceramic quality, while the sculptural silhouette makes it an object in its own right even when unlit.
The Satellite Uplighter draws on the sculptural forms of 1970s space age design, with a sweeping curved silhouette that gives it a strong architectural presence.
Made from recycled paper pulp, the surface has a distinctive tactile finish. Its adaptable design allows it to be positioned on a surface or on the floor, making it effective as a statement piece.
Pavilion has a softer, more rounded silhouette inspired by Art Nouveau lighting. The Brick finish gives it a warm, earthy character, while the low profile creates a gentle pool of atmospheric light.
It would work particularly well on a bedside table, console or sideboard, bringing warmth to a quieter corner of the room.
Good & Mojo
Good & Mojo makes its lighting using natural and sustainable materials, working with small communities in Vietnam to produce its designs. The brand also plants a tree for every lamp sold, which is a perfect addition to an already strong sustainability story.
The Barbados table lamp combines a natural bamboo shade with a simple wooden base, creating a soft and understated presence. The woven shade gently filters the light, giving the room a warm, intimate glow.
The Barbados would sit beautifully on a console, bedside table or bookshelf, particularly alongside other natural textures and warm, earthy tones.
Tom Raffield
Tom Raffield's lighting is inspired by the shapes and movement of the natural world, with sculptural forms created from sustainably sourced FSC certified timber. Each piece is handcrafted in Cornwall and designed for longevity, with a lifetime guarantee. There is a wonderful sense of craftsmanship throughout the collection. These are pieces designed to remain part of a home for years rather than follow the usual cycle of interior trends.
Skipper is formed from twelve pieces of sustainably sourced ash, oak or walnut, each curved to create the lamp's distinctive undulating shape.
The cordless, rechargeable design allows it to be placed wherever additional light is needed, while the timber creates a warm, golden glow that travels upwards and outwards. It works particularly well on a dining table, side table or in a hallway.
Verso is crafted from a single continuous length of sustainably sourced timber, curved into an elegant asymmetrical form around the exposed bulb.
The shape changes from every angle, while the sweeping timber casts subtle shadows across the surface beneath it. It has the presence of a sculptural object, making it particularly effective in spaces where the lamp can be appreciated from different viewpoints.
A home doesn't need more things to feel more luxurious. Sometimes it simply needs better light. A few pools of warm light around a room can completely change the atmosphere, bringing out the colours, textures and details that disappear beneath a ceiling light. A favourite chair becomes somewhere you want to sit, the dining table feels more intimate and an ordinary evening takes on a little more occasion. And if we're going to bring something new into the home, it should earn its place. These are pieces made to be lived with, using materials chosen with care and designs intended to last. Beautiful now, but with enough substance to remain beautiful years from now. Good lighting isn't really about seeing better. It's about making everything else look better
Inspired by the form of a tree branch, Spire combines a sustainably sourced oak stem with a simple round wooden base and minimalist shade.
The height and direction of the light can both be adjusted, making it as practical as it is sculptural. It would work well beside a reading chair, on a desk or next to the bed where focused lighting is needed.