Monday, November 28, 2016

Needing, Wanting, Loving: Mushroom Lamps

As I've mentioned a few times before, I'm currently in the midst of watching all 7 Mad Men seasons.    While I love the show's various story lines and character development, I'm fascinated by the set design.  It's mid-century mod at it's finest, and I love spotting design classics like the Knoll Saarinen Executive Chair, the Saarinen Tulip Table (Roger's desk shown below, after his second wife Jane redecorates his office), and the Artemide Nesso Table Lamp:

{Buy the original design here}

This lamp is also often referred to as a "mushroom lamp" for it's shape, and there have been several iterations of this design since it was first released in 1964 by Italian designer Giancarlo Mattioli.   In 1971, Louis Poulsen released the Panthella Table Lamp, which certainly took inspiration from the Nesso:


Louis elongated the shape, streamlined the top, and gave it a tapered base, similar to the Saarinen tulip table base:







I love the bold feminine hues in this bedroom, designed by Kelly Wearstler.  The brass mushroom lamp is fab, too:

{A similar table lamp can be purchased here}

Kelly Wearstler designed her own version of the mushroom table lamp last year for Visual Comfort & Co. The Melange Table Lamp has a straight cylindrical base with an alabaster top, and comes in two finishes.  It is worth noting that her design also clearly took inspiration from the Bauhaus Table Lamp, which is similar in form to the mushroom lamp but features a straight base and perfectly domed top.   Here is the Melange in bronze:




Mattioli's original Nesso "mushroom" lamp is part of Moma's "Design Classics" collection, and can be purchased from their store here.





Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...