This roundup of things we liked this week originally appeared in the February 1, 2024, edition of the Secret Strategist newsletter, a weekly email where we share the stuff our staff — plus a rotating cast of writers, design-world people, and various others with very good taste — would otherwise keep to themselves. If you want to get our picks straight to your inbox each week, sign up here.
In almost every iteration of this newsletter, we’ve included one lighting fixture or another. Outside of the Noguchi-verse, they’re hard to get right, so when we surface something especially great that we’ve never seen before, or is surprisingly inexpensive, or is just particularly excellent, we like to let you guys know. Instead of continuing to work piecemeal (though of course, we’ll continue to send you light fixtures as we find them), we decided just to try a tact that’s worked well for us in the past: reach out to a ton of people, ask them what lights they like the best, and put them all here in one helpful place. — Katy Schneider & Simone Kitchens
Table
* Natalie So, writer: “My husband is a lighting freak so you’ve come to the right household. We love vintage cocoon lamps and have two garlic-bulb shaped ones — there are a lot of variations of them, but the originals seem to have been designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in Italy in the 1960s [more praise for this duo further down]. Vibe-wise they have a kinship with the Noguchi Akaris but I prefer the more complex texture/feel/warmth of the resin over paper. Here are a couple. In our office, we have a couple of vintage Twist T1s which are Swedish architect lamps also from the 1960s. Industrial-looking with fun colors. Here’s a good one. (By the way, if you look hard enough, you can get the cocoon and twist T1s at fairly affordable prices — there’s a wide range.) Our favorite cheaper lamp is the IKEA Fado table lamp (all of my husband’s siblings, including Fritz [Haeg of Salmon Creek Farm]! have these). Simple, inconspicuous, but still subtly stylish. And many people know of the Zafferano Pina Pro at this point because of COVID outdoor dining (thanks Altro Paradiso!), but our favorite use for them is actually as a diaper-changing table lamp — since it casts light downward (won’t blind baby!) and can be dimmed. We give them to all of our friends who are expecting babies.”.
* Julia Chiang, artist: “We have a current fave: a new lava lamp from Target. Our younger daughter got obsessed and now we’re all like, ‘ooooh ahhhh’ when she turns it on. It’s in her bedroom.”
* Fanny Singer, author and founder of Permanent Collection: “My husband and I bought this yellow swiveling Nemo lamp from Merci when we were in Paris. Then we bought a second one online when we realized we wanted them to be our bedside table lamps.”
* Matthew Schneier, New York chief restaurant critic: I’m a lamp fanatic, and the midcentury Italian designer-brothers Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni make some of my favorites. Their Snoopy lamp, named after the Peanuts character (in the black-and-white version it sort of looks like the dog) was one of my holy grail items. Originally designed in 1967 (the year before Pier Giacomo died), it’s a little marvel of pop and engineering — it lists backward and looks like it shouldn’t be able to hold itself up, but it does. (NB: It weighs a ton.) The Snoopy costs a fortune, but after years of stalking it, I found a discounted version from an international store on 1stDibs which, combined with some extreme e-couponing and credit-card offers, made it just barely possible to make mine. I wasn’t able to pull off the same magic with the Castglionis’ Toio lamp (1962), but I found a kinda-sorta Ikea dupe last year.
* Kerrilynn Pamer, founder of CAP Beauty: “You’re one switch away from a vibe change with this Hay light stick around. I have it in red and keep it on top of a set of Vitsoes. And this Analuisa Corrigan curtain lamp almost feels like a roommate, she has such a personality of her own.”
Ceiling/Wall
* Erin Falls, artist: “This Teti light by Vico Magistretti for Artemide has followed me through 4 houses and has proved to shine in every possible design scenario. It has this unique ability to stand out and also be perfectly simple. It has a little gap between the fixture and the ceiling which makes it look sort of like it’s floating, and also is just enough weird, which I love. It’s not terribly expensive and looks great alone or with multiples in a row, like for a hallway.” (This was also endorsed by Will and Alice Fox, partners at Fox Fox Studio — ”We have two in our kitchen,” they said.)
* Kim Hafstreiter, editor: “My number-one favorite lamp is the ‘lampampe’ by my dear late friend Ingo Maurer. I love this the most because it was Ingo’s favorite lamp he ever designed. Ingo slept with it next to his bed and Ingo gave me one so I could do the same with mine (I have Ingo’s lamps all over my home). That said, one lamp I love that I bought after Ingo died was the Valerie #1 wall lamp by Belgian couple Muller van Severin.”
* Roanne Adams, founder of RoAndCo: “I love these elegant and sculptural Michel Buffet white wall sconces with their subtle curves. I also like that the bulb is hidden and that they blend into the white wall above my white fireplace. Tone on tone is my jam! And this Gino Sarfatti model no. 2065 ceiling lamp in black and white hangs above our dining table, the perfect Italian modern 1950s aesthetic to create that cinematic/moody lighting in the dining room.”
* Sadie Stein, writer and editor: “Most of my lamps are pickups from yard sales and thrift stores; it’s always a good idea to get them rewired. It’s not hard to do with a little YouTube instruction, but when in doubt, Oriental Lampshade Company on 79th is terrific. I’m a big fan of Pooky, who are about to launch U.S. products! (I shopped them even when it meant they had to be rewired, and still think it’s a good deal for the quality.) I love their pendant shades — especially the Skep in opaline glass.”
* Randy Minor, New York senior art director: “The flower-pot lamp by Verner Panton — I own two vintage ones from the ‘60s or ‘70s.”
* Kai Avent-deLeon seems to have installed a very-handsome Alvaro Ucha Rodriguez sconce in her store, Sincerely, Tommy, with an Iko Iko cord cover. Cool!
* Sarah Burns, owner of Old Jewelry: “These Hans Agne Jakobsson sconces are the perfect bedside reading lamps — and have such a satisfying “click” on/off button. Especially love the wood veneer and brown combo; it feels like a ‘90s rural tax office.”
Standing
* Wendy Goodman, New York design editor: “I was trying to find something similar to a standing brass lamp in my parents’ apartment that I live with now … this is about the closest. Mine has a round hood with a small sphere knob at the bottom of the hood. It is totally simple and streamlined and I love the discreet down light it gives — everything today is not as soignée!”
* Rajni Jacques, global head of fashion and beauty at Snapchat: “I like to call this silver Ikea light, the Moody Lamp. It’s a great light when you’re feeling melancholy. When the overhead lights are off and you want just a hint of light to soften the room, this does the job. It’s a tall reading lamp essentially. Also, it’s cheap ($16!) and looks good in any room — night or day.”
* Hugh Hayden, artist: “I recently purchased a pair of these Globe Floor Lamps from Interior Icons. I love their simplicity, size, and the amount of light they bring to my living room. I only wish they were dimmable.”
* We spotted this Italian modern round floor lamp from the ‘90s at the Paris Maryam Nassir Zadeh store — it’s so simple and nice.
Some Non-Lamp Things
* Love this new USM shoe rack.
* REALLY love this website, Systemarosa, which sells perfectly-worn-in vintage jerseys and an assortment of hard-to-find Prada Sport slide-ons.
* Sera Studios, what a beautiful brand!
* This all-white keyboard is pleasing.
* Remember these round metal step stools? So excellent in red.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
