Modern Lighting

As well as performing a practical function lighting has been taken into new dimensions of style by creating sculptural and significant pieces.

Regalo di Canto Lamps are Australian designed by Schamburg and Alvisse. The two metre high floor lamp is based on a series of movable rotary - moulded polyethylene shells that light up. You can program it to suit your mood, changing colour and intensity and the speed at which it moves. They retail around $6000.

Jack Lights (Lamps) were designed by Tom Dixon in the UK for Eurolounge. Stackable, sit able and portable, these come in a range of colours and are made from moulded plastic. Urchin like, their forms are spectacular and will sit beautifully on their own. Stack two or more on top of each other and they become a real feature and omit a lovely warm glow. $630 for purple - $580 for white.

Yo Lamps (yes they look like Yo Yo's) were designed locally by Simon Christopher and Celina Clark. Made from moulded polymer they come in a choice of colours. They double up as a stool (keeping your bottom warm), and they even look great suspended from the ceiling. Simon describes the Yo Lamp as a fun and interactive piece, and its portability means you're not restricted to where you are receiving your light source. They retail for around $500.

The Stick Light was designed by UK designer Michael Young in Japan for Eurolounge. This light isn't designed to stand or sit on its own. It's light that you lie around the place or lean against the wall. This vulnerability, therefore, induces a kind of protective urge in its owner to cradle it or hold it. It costs around $716.

Things to consider

• Lighting is considered one of the most important elements in creating an
  atmosphere in a room.
• Many of these lights are marked to become design classics. They may be on the expensive side now but in a few years time they will be worth a lot
  more than what you paid for them.

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