The lamps in my house

farslan

2 days ago

335points

126 comments

Comments

bob1029•19 hours ago

Lamps are a fantastic way to light an interior space. Recessed ceiling lights do not establish hierarchy in the dimensions that humans are most interested in. Getting the lighting source close to eye level is the key to success.

At some level this turns into an accessibility and comfort issue. People with limited vision can take strong advantage of well placed lights. Highlights and shadows are some of the most fundamental elements of human visual perception. Without them our brain needs to work overtime to analyze a given scene.

sota_pop•15 hours ago

As a former lighting designer, we would call this “task lighting” and you are completely correct. Generally speaking, task lighting is MUCH more pleasant that simply relying on overhead lights, recessed or otherwise.

omnee•6 hours ago

I've had the BenQ WiT reading desk lamp for nearly five years, and it has been almost flawless until now. I always use it to light my desk when working on the computer, and it's also fine for any detail work or whenever I'm reading on the desk. It could be improved with some design changes to reduce lateral glare, but this could impact the wide throw of the light which entirely covers my desk.

smallnix•yesterday

I love iconic minimal lamps too. I never saw the Lampe de Bureau nor the Kismas Lamp 01, love them! You might like the Muuto Post.

quadrifoliate•7 hours ago

I know this is like saying "I could do what Jackson Pollock does if I just threw some paint around"...but I can't really shake the feeling that that Muuto Post looks like something out of my dorm room but for 1255 dollars.

I guess the modularity (you can purchase more lights) is a real feature though?

mholm•yesterday

I'll note that many of the glass blocks they use are available all over, for a few dollars. I bought a few Doric glass blocks, stuck some diffused LED strips below them, and printed a stand/enclosure, all for under $15. Good gift for friends.

arjie•yesterday

These look quite nice. I'm very protective of desk real estate for persistent things, though. Has anyone got a nice bright focus lamp when working on things. Most of the time my room is well-enough illuminated for things, but yesterday I was doing some minor maintenance on my 3d printer hot-end and I had to use my iPhone with the flashlight on propped up. Is there some kind of compact folding lamp which nonetheless has the ability to hold position and still be moved over specific parts of my table? Battery-operated would be ideal, but I can plug things in at worst.

Loughla•yesterday

Milwaukee 500 Lumens LED Pivoting REDLITHIUM USB Flashlight.

Google that. It's pretty expensive for a flashlight but makes a PHENOMENAL work light. 3 brightness/focus modes, magnetic base, adjustable head, holds charge forever, and rechargable.

copperx•20 hours ago

I thought we were taking aesthetics into consideration.

Loughla•4 hours ago

I'm sorry. I focused more on the part where desk space is at a premium. This little light can be tucked away when not in use, thereby negating considerations of aesthetics.

_carbyau_•18 hours ago

I use an Anduril based LED headlamp running rechargable 18650 battery.[0]

Light where you look, as stable as your head, brightness variable as desired.

Anduril firmware can run in simple mode or get stupid complicated with things like candle, lightning, tactical flashing (think flashbang level of trying to disorient).

Good luck with that 3D printer hotend!

[0] https://www.sofirnlight.com/products/sofirn-h35r-1500lm-head...

*can also use the light it self to recharge the battery within.

analog31•yesterday

I got a rechargeable headlamp for close work.

mokhtarrady•14 hours ago

[flagged]

jkestner•yesterday

Since you’re a fan of Sapper, have you peeped the Halley? He did it for an LED lighting startup (back when that was a thing), very artsy for him. I got one on eBay several years ago that I use as a work lamp because of its supreme adjustability. Uses my favorite electromechanical connector of all time, the 3.5mm audio jack (I’ve used it on every one of my hardware products).

needSomeCoffee•yesterday

One lamp featured was a "mini Tizio". I bought the full-size one many, many years ago. (E.g. uses a Halogen bulb.) This article prompted me to think... So I just Goolged it. My vintage Tizio is now selling for about $1,200. (Cannot remember what I spent, but very likely my <$150 filter kicked in when buying.) So if you like these lights, maybe consider the cost an investment. If after a few decades you may want to sell, and you might do well. Note: My Tizio is not for sale as it is a superb desk lamp.

atombender•yesterday

Alas, a good-condition Tizio usually sells for around $200-$350 used, depending on the exact model. First-generation models may go a little higher, like $500-$600. I bought mine a couple of years ago for about €250.

If you browse sites like 1stdibs or Pamono, you're going to see dramatically inflated prices, but I don't see why anyone would ever buy there. Ebay, Selency, Vntg, etc. are more likely to sell at actual market prices.

artisinal•7 hours ago

I sold a few vintage Tizio lamps, with the old style halogen, for €130 per piece last year. Took a few weeks to sell them. In all fairness, they were missing bits like the glass panel and one had two paint splatters on the head.

Nice lights, but not the easiest to move, a bit fragile and not very power efficient. The LED ones don't power on when you apply power to them which is a strange choice and makes it difficult to integrate with wall switches.

twalla•8 hours ago

The real price of anything you see on 1stdibs is about 40-50 percent lower than what you see. Their fees are egregious and if a piece is unique or the seller name has enough info it's almost always very easy to find the seller and contact them directly via instagram. Also, if you want more market price information go look at sold prices on liveauctioneers (just keep in mind buyers premium is about 25-30 percent)

atombender•4 hours ago

Yep, agreed. I don't really understand why 1stdibs even exists, since I can't imagine anyone ever pays these prices. Chairing and Pamono (now owned by Chairish) also is generally inflated.

My go to sources are Selency, Vntg, Instagram, Catawiki, and then a bunch of online stores across Europe I've bookmarked, including auction sites like Bukowskis in Sweden. The smaller vintage stores are the ones to go to generally.

needSomeCoffee•yesterday

Thanks for the correct info. I must admit to a very hasty Google search, and the highest number likely caught my eye.

ddrmaxgt37•yesterday

I wrote about this concept recently. Secondhand objects can be good purchases!

https://arun.is/blog/pinned-value-goods/

real_faxenoff•7 hours ago

I like all those cute little home decor items, too.

But honestly, I'd love for the entire ceiling to be one controllable light source. That would be perfect.

Oscalemor•yesterday

Remember a saying of 5 individual light sources in each room as a rule of interior design. Very wholesome read, made me smile and look at my own lamps.

Brought me joy as Kondo would have said

eps•yesterday

Excellent collection, compliments to the chef!

One of my recent favourites - Le Soleil by Foscarini - https://www.foscarini.com/en/product/le-soleil-std-s-en/

It's wonderfully asymmetrical without overdoing it, with every layer suspended and swaying independently when prodded. Exceptional light distribution.

stickfigure•yesterday

All I can think about is the 20m it would take to walk around the house and turn all of them off every time I wanted to leave the house.

dan-robertson•16 hours ago

I have lamp sockets – need to rewire lamps to a different kind of plug but then they can be turned on/off with ordinary light switches. They were more common in older properties when lamps were more common, then went out of fashion, though some newer (or more expensive) properties get them these days.

jackmalpo•yesterday

phillips hue

farslan•yesterday

Yeap! All of them are Phillips Hue bulbs and switches.

benoliver999•yesterday

Does that then mean the switches can't be used?

eps•yesterday

Bah... how pedestrian. Wago or bust!

piskov•yesterday

Homekit wall plugs

artisinal•7 hours ago

Doesn't work on the Tizio unfortunately