Elegant floor lamps to brighten autumn nights

Legendary lighting designer Ingo Maurer once said, ‘Design is a way of thinking, and lighting is a way of feeling.’ Through their substantial size and scale, floor lamps possess the power to transform a room, commanding attention and creating atmospheric pockets of light and visual interest. They can serve as sculptural statement pieces that draw the eye or as supporting acts that quietly enhance the overall ambience of a space. Our carefully curated selection of standing lamps features designs from the 1930s to the present, united by experimental spirit, tactile materiality, and thoughtfully considered proportions.

‘Meld’ floor lamps by Gather Glass and Emma Payne Ceramics

Emma Payne worked with glassmaker Phoebe Stubbs of Gather Glass to create this modular series of ceramic lamps. Also available in table and cocktail sizes, the lamps are formed of ceramic sections that can be stacked to various heights and configured with multiple lights. The sections are made from textural, ceramic-glazed stoneware while the diffusers are hand-blown glass. ‘We worked out the design through a series of collaborative sketches and material combinations,’ Payne explains. ‘As designer craftsmen, we would work in our separate studios and then meet to show how our works had progressed and developed. The meeting of two materials and two minds.’

From £3,100, emmalouisepayne.com

‘Monoscope’ floor lamp by Allied Maker

Notable for its refined details and buttery tan leather shade that casts a diffused light both upward and downward, the ‘Monoscope’ floor lamp by New York lighting brand Allied Maker exudes a classic sophistication reminiscent of traditional libraries or study rooms. Its disc-shaped shade, crafted from two 18-inch diameter frosted glass panels and encased in soft tan leather, pairs seamlessly with a matching leather-wrapped stem, brass pull chain, and bronze patina metal accents.

From $9,900, alliedmaker.com

‘Madra’ floor lamp by Alara Alkan Studio

Turkish-American designer Alara Alkan describes her work as driven by a deep curiosity for materials and inspired by the transformative effects of tides, wind, and sunlight. Her ‘Madra’ lamp embodies this ethos, pairing an airy linen shade with a substantial, tapered white oak stem to create a harmonious balance of form and material. Designed during Alkan’s residency at New York design gallery Colony – an incubator programme nurturing emerging design talent – the lamp made its debut in June 2024.

goodcolony.com

‘Cellu’ floor lamp by Simon Legald for Normann Copenhagen

Created by Danish designer Simon Legald for Normann Copenhagen, the ‘Cellu’ floor lamp combines an archetypal form with surprising materials – a shade made from pleated PVC and a chunky column in powder-coated aluminium. The steel base provides stability and an accent of colour. ‘In my design, I try not to add any unnecessary details,’ says Legald of his approach. ‘I work with simplicity by highlighting the necessities instead of hiding them. It gives the product a simple and honest expression.’

£355, available through Heal’s

‘Roattino’ floor lamp by Eileen Gray for ClassiCon

Recalling a bird elegantly perched on one leg, Eileen Gray’s sinuous ‘Roattino’ floor lamp was designed in 1931, its minimalist form standing in bold defiance against the ornate styles of the era. Now produced by German maker ClassiCon, the S-shaped design has gained renewed popularity, featuring a swivelling fabric shade, a new dimming function, and a fresh white colourway.

£2,074 , available through Aram.co.uk

‘Superwire’ by Formafantasma for Flos

Formafantasma’s ‘SuperWire’ lighting collection for Flos was praised far and wide by design devotees when it was launched at Milan Design Week 2024. Including this three-legged floor lamp design, the ‘SuperWire’ lamps are composed of hexagonal modules encased in flat glass panels, all set within a sleek aluminium framework. Inside each module, 12 slender LED strips, protected by spaghetti-sized borosilicate tubes, emit a warm, inviting glow. Formafantasma designed the series with sustainability in mind, allowing the glass panels to be easily removed for simple repair or replacement of the LEDs.

£4,154, available from November on flos.com

‘Cyclopedus’ series by Atelier Malak

Paris-based designer Malacau Lefebvre of Studio Malak strives to create pieces that are, in his words, ‘as expressive as possible’ and imbued with a sense of ‘emotional charge’. For instance, his bent steel ‘Cyclopedus’ lighting collection features floor lamps that, while resembling simple line drawings, carry a striking anthropomorphic quality – like figures curiously craning their necks for a better view.

From €600, Atelier Malak

‘Uptown’ by Ferruccio Laviani for Foscarini

Three slabs of coloured glass in shades of yellow, red and blue are stacked together to create Ferruccio Laviani’s ‘Uptown’ floor lamp for Foscarini. In a composition that recalls a New York skyscraper, the glass blocks overlap, giving rise to new colourful hues that look alluring whether illuminated or not. Introduced in 2019, Laviani says of the design: ‘The art deco and Memphis geometries, the multiple combination possibilities afforded by glass and the 1960s-style glass slab accessories… the list of what inspired “Uptown” could go on forever. I wanted to convey the intrinsic wealth of the material, its unique way of conveying transparency and colour.’

£3,846, available through Lamp Twist

‘Callimaco’ by Ettore Sottsass for Artemide

With its bold colours, unconventional form and playful details, the ‘Callimaco’ floor lamp, designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1982, epitomises the spirit of the Memphis movement, which Sottsass helped to establish. The lamp's design includes a chrome-plated handle, a sleek painted aluminium stem, and a painted steel cone-shaped diffuser, recalling the silhouette of a trumpet. A true piece of design history.

£1,415, available through Madeindesign.co.uk and Twentytwentyone.com

‘Dórica’ by Jordi Miralbell and Mariona Raventós for Santa & Cole

Inspired by classical columns and named after the Doric order in architecture, the ‘Dórica’ lamp was designed by Spanish designers Jordi Miralbell and Mariona Raventós for Santa & Cole in 1994. Its enduring appeal lies in the thoughtful simplicity of its crafted details and blend of warm materials – a cotton ribbon shade, a sturdy bronze structure, and a leather cord grip. Raventós once said, ‘Design is the art of making the utilitarian into a desired thing, into human warmth, into something generated by man,’ a sentiment beautifully embodied in this piece.

£1,578, available through Lamp Twist and SCP