The Ultimate Guide to Eco Lighting

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Maybe it’s the way they can make or break a room, like the way the perfect accessory can pull together an outfit. Or maybe the whys don’t matter as much as the facts.

Eco-lighting is front-page news and everyone who’s anyone is making the switch to green. For your viewing pleasure, I’ve gathered a cutting edge list of green lighting fixtures. It’s amazing what designers dream up and build out of life’s scraps, like recycled paper, metal and glass, reclaimed wood and sustainable bamboo. There’s literally an eco-light for every style and occasion.

EcoSalon Guide to Eco Lighting (from top; left to right):

Red, yellow, Go. For the minimalist, there’s the Stoplights line of fixtures from Greenlight Concepts. Details here.

I love the clever Honeycomb Lamp designed by Kouichi Okamoto. Made of Japanese denguri paper, it measures 18″ x 12″. This eco-lamp arrives flat-packed. Buy it for $52 at a number of online stores.

The Zooey mini chandelier by Amy Adams is perfect in a kitchen or kid’s room. Its four hanging 4″ ceramic balls cluster together to create this pendant, available in 7 gorgeous colors for $480. Amy’s ceramic is eco-friendly and manufactured at Perch. Details here.

Blue Marmalade, a Scottish company committed to sustainable design, has created Bloom, a pendant shade made from a single sheet of recyclable material. The simplicity of this design is evident in its graceful shape and light weight. It was made specifically for energy saving bulbs. $70 at TheGreenHaus.

Can cardboard be pretty? Graypants thought so when they designed their Scrap Lights out of recycled cardboard boxes. Each one is unique and hand-made. Details here.

Recycled white paper is used to create the Cloud Lamp Shade, designed by Yu Jordy Fu. Sustainable, simple and feminine, these are a definite favorite of mine. Shipped flat-pack, with an energy saving light bulb, available in five designs. $175-$500 (via productdose).

Benjamin Hubert uses reclaimed Styrofoam for his playful Candy Lamps and Twisted Floor Lamp. Details here. Take my word, Hubert is a hot British designer to watch!

Another minimalist design that offers versatility and allows for a longer product life span (two eco-ideas that we love!) is the LXL Lamp designed by Jaime Salm. The pendant is offered as a set of components that can be inter-changed to make it larger and/or change colors. Made in the U.S. from locally sourced materials. $195 at Mio.

If modern and understated is more your style, try the Nautilus designed by Rebecca Asquith of New Zealand. Details here.

Check out this 2006 Spectacle Chandelier from Stuart Haygarth. It’s made with several layers of plastic-framed spectacles linked together. Call me crazy, but I adore it. The price tag? You guessed it – available upon request.

The Chandelirium by ARTae (Aaron R. Thomas and Anne Ewen). Each pendant is hand-made of reclaimed clear and white acrylic strips and measures approximate 30″ H x 20″ W (or commission a specific size). It is available for a hefty $2,950 at artc, but what an impact it would make in a high-ceilinged living room!

What to do with Grandma’s out-of-date teacups? Domestic Construction made a chandelier (Ted Lights) out of theirs – I adore the cluster version. At fist it seemed too kitschy but it definitely has grown on me (via poppytalk).

Jerry Kott creates “hybrid bottles” out of empty wine bottles that he cuts, frosts and pieces back together again. He then turns them into his re-lights of various sizes, shapes and colors – mystical and organic in nature. Available in three designs, one of which holds an eco-efficient tubular compact fluorescent bulb. $126-$490.

And, because I can’t pass up the opportunity to showcase something extraordinary and extravagant, here are my over-the-top picks:

I’m in deep like with Hudson Furniture’s dining tables and benches, and I must spread the love to their lighting. Any of these Hudson fixtures could light my room and I’d be one eco-happy chica. Breathtaking in beauty as well as in price. Details here.

If all else fails, eco-light your room with illuminated wallpaper. Well, I hope we can, because this concept truly amazes me! Learn more about Jonas Samson’s innovative design.

And finally, what do you think about these cocoon mesh lights by UK artist Julie Roberts? They look awfully difficult to dust, but they are eco – and definitely over the top!

That sums it up – my cutting edge collection of eco-lights. What lights your fire?