8 Trends in Contemporary Lighting for 2024
Wooden shades, gorgeous glass and slim profiles were among the lighting looks at the recent ICFF trade event
Contemporary lighting designs all embody a combination of creativity, craft and innovation, but their looks can be all over the map. Nonetheless, at the recent International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), held May 19-21 at New York’s Javits Center, we did notice some recurring materials and ideas among the products presented. Below are several that felt particularly of the moment, along with representative products by a diverse group of emerging and established designers. If you want to learn more about a specific fixture, you can work with your designer or contact the maker or manufacturer directly.
The sourcing of the wood was often an important part of the story. New York lighting manufacturer Stickbulb, for example, creates clean-lined, modular hardwired and portable LED lighting fixtures out of locally sourced wood, including salvaged redwood from old water towers and pine from demolished buildings. Its Treeline series — four pendants from which are pictured here — is made from salvaged pin oak from trees felled by construction and storms in New York City. The lights deliver 1800 lumens per foot and come in versions that shine up, down or both directions. In addition to using eco-friendly materials, Stickbulb designed the light so one of its wooden sides opens to allow for easy access to all electrical components and wiring connections, which makes maintenance, repair and end-of-life processing easier than often is the case with integrated LED lights.
The beauty of Stickbulb’s lighting collection, combined with its innovative modular designs and environmentally sensitive practices, earned the company 2024 ICFF Editors Awards for Best in Show and Best in Lighting.
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The beauty of Stickbulb’s lighting collection, combined with its innovative modular designs and environmentally sensitive practices, earned the company 2024 ICFF Editors Awards for Best in Show and Best in Lighting.
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2. String and Rope
Rope- and string-wrapped designs were among the trends we noticed at this spring’s High Point Market. At ICFF, we also saw rope and string showing up, but in looser, more unconventional ways.
Some rope designs were loopy, which was a trend we first spotted at last year’s ICFF. The design seen here, which features loops of cotton-covered LED light strips, is more an illuminated sculpture than it is a light fixture. It’s from the Cabuya collection by New York sculptor and Launch Pad participant Pilar Olaverri.
Rope- and string-wrapped designs were among the trends we noticed at this spring’s High Point Market. At ICFF, we also saw rope and string showing up, but in looser, more unconventional ways.
Some rope designs were loopy, which was a trend we first spotted at last year’s ICFF. The design seen here, which features loops of cotton-covered LED light strips, is more an illuminated sculpture than it is a light fixture. It’s from the Cabuya collection by New York sculptor and Launch Pad participant Pilar Olaverri.
We were fascinated by this Stitch lamp by Isaac Regier, the Nebraskan designer behind StudioIR. Also on display in the fair’s Launch Pad area, the fixture looked almost like a magical harp with illuminated thin, woven strings.
15 Lighting Trends Spotted at the Spring 2024 High Point Market
15 Lighting Trends Spotted at the Spring 2024 High Point Market
3. Luminous Pearls
Hidden LED light strips are now ubiquitous, but the fair was also polka-dotted with prominent round bulbs. And one very specific look kept popping up: round bulbs set against stone, metal and ceramic backplates. The simple design was reminiscent of a pearl sitting in an oyster shell.
Among our favorite examples were these Blob sconces from Robert Sukrachand’s lighting company, Pern Baan. The sconces, which were inspired by drawings by fellow ICFF exhibitor Hannah Bigeleisen, are handmade in Thailand out of Thai marble.
This collection of sconces, along with several other lighting and furniture designs, earned Pern Baan an ICFF Editors Award for Body of Work.
Hidden LED light strips are now ubiquitous, but the fair was also polka-dotted with prominent round bulbs. And one very specific look kept popping up: round bulbs set against stone, metal and ceramic backplates. The simple design was reminiscent of a pearl sitting in an oyster shell.
Among our favorite examples were these Blob sconces from Robert Sukrachand’s lighting company, Pern Baan. The sconces, which were inspired by drawings by fellow ICFF exhibitor Hannah Bigeleisen, are handmade in Thailand out of Thai marble.
This collection of sconces, along with several other lighting and furniture designs, earned Pern Baan an ICFF Editors Award for Body of Work.
Photo by Daniel Wang
We also admired these lights —aptly called Oyster and Pearl — by Tanvi Arora of TAV Ceramics. TAV was part of Wanted’s Look Book program, which showcases independent, high-end North American design studios and makers.
Oyster has a matte glass globe set inside a large, concave ceramic backplate. Pearl has a similar shape but is convex, with a light softly shining through the porcelain.
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We also admired these lights —aptly called Oyster and Pearl — by Tanvi Arora of TAV Ceramics. TAV was part of Wanted’s Look Book program, which showcases independent, high-end North American design studios and makers.
Oyster has a matte glass globe set inside a large, concave ceramic backplate. Pearl has a similar shape but is convex, with a light softly shining through the porcelain.
Shop for wall sconces
4. Eco-Friendly Materials
Contemporary furnishings are a reflection of the time, so given the international emphasis on environmental sustainability, it’s no surprise that it’s a prominent theme at ICFF. It showed up in lighting in a variety of ways, but especially in materials.
As previously mentioned, salvaged and sustainably raised wood was one eco-friendly material used in the lighting designs on display. But mycelium — basically mushroom roots — seemed to be the “green” material that attendees were most buzzing about. MushLume Lighting, the 2024 ICFF Editors Award winner for sustainable design, grows its lampshades (including this Hemi pendant) using sustainably grown hemp combined with mycelium, which is a rapidly renewable material. After they’re heated and dried out, the molded shades are stable and totally biodegradable.
Contemporary furnishings are a reflection of the time, so given the international emphasis on environmental sustainability, it’s no surprise that it’s a prominent theme at ICFF. It showed up in lighting in a variety of ways, but especially in materials.
As previously mentioned, salvaged and sustainably raised wood was one eco-friendly material used in the lighting designs on display. But mycelium — basically mushroom roots — seemed to be the “green” material that attendees were most buzzing about. MushLume Lighting, the 2024 ICFF Editors Award winner for sustainable design, grows its lampshades (including this Hemi pendant) using sustainably grown hemp combined with mycelium, which is a rapidly renewable material. After they’re heated and dried out, the molded shades are stable and totally biodegradable.
California-based lighting company Gantri showed off its new collection of hardwired, dimmable LED pendant lights made of another biomaterial: sugarcane. Created in collaboration with a variety of independent designers, the clean-lined pieces are all 3D-printed on demand and made out of two kinds of plant polymers derived from non-GMO sugarcane. One polymer is translucent and the other is opaque and, like the mycelium-hemp material, both are entirely biodegradable. The brand’s Kero table light is pictured here.
5. Artful Glass
Like wood, glass is a favorite material of contemporary designers, who continually come up with ways to make it look fresh — even when it’s crafted using classical techniques. The variety and creativity in the handmade glass lighting collections at ICFF this year were outstanding.
For example, luxury decorative lighting design studio Rothschild & Bickers wooed us with its beautiful collection of colorful lighting fixtures, which are all made in the U.K. with free-blown glass, without the use of molds. The base shade of its Pillar pendant, seen here, comes in 15 glass colors and has a clear reeded glass top section.
Like wood, glass is a favorite material of contemporary designers, who continually come up with ways to make it look fresh — even when it’s crafted using classical techniques. The variety and creativity in the handmade glass lighting collections at ICFF this year were outstanding.
For example, luxury decorative lighting design studio Rothschild & Bickers wooed us with its beautiful collection of colorful lighting fixtures, which are all made in the U.K. with free-blown glass, without the use of molds. The base shade of its Pillar pendant, seen here, comes in 15 glass colors and has a clear reeded glass top section.
Another standout working in handblown glass (from both a product and a process standpoint) was Oregon-based Bright Block Studio, a participant in Wanted’s Launch Pad section. Studio founders Jeff Ballard and Joe Tsoulfas use salvaged architectural window block from remodeled and demolished buildings to create a line of pendant lights, including the Aura Tower pictured here. Because they heat and reshape the blocks rather than remelt the glass in a furnace, they both conserve energy and preserve the blocks’ distinctive gridded and ribbed textures.
6. Slim Profiles
Some of the lights on view at the fair were striking in part thanks to their large scales and intricate forms and details. Others were notable for their barely-there silhouettes, made possible by the compact power of LEDs. This Aywa reading lamp by Korea’s Tangram Lighting, for example, is just a slim wand of colorful anodized aluminum with LED illumination along one end. But a discreet hinge lets it freely rotate 360 degrees so it can be used for task or ambient lighting. And despite its minimal size, it caused attendees to gather around to play with its infrared laser sensor, which enables users to control power, brightness, lighting color and a timer hands-free with simple gestures.
Some of the lights on view at the fair were striking in part thanks to their large scales and intricate forms and details. Others were notable for their barely-there silhouettes, made possible by the compact power of LEDs. This Aywa reading lamp by Korea’s Tangram Lighting, for example, is just a slim wand of colorful anodized aluminum with LED illumination along one end. But a discreet hinge lets it freely rotate 360 degrees so it can be used for task or ambient lighting. And despite its minimal size, it caused attendees to gather around to play with its infrared laser sensor, which enables users to control power, brightness, lighting color and a timer hands-free with simple gestures.
Quebec lighting company Tibo also presented skinny but mighty designs, including its Bouquet and Hublot collections. (An eight-light design from the latter is pictured here.) The thin, LED-illuminated wafers of frosted acrylic, which were inspired by the illumination of the sunset through a ship’s porthole, had a large visual impact without blocking sightlines.
Photo by Andrew Bui
7. Handmade Ceramics
Seeing all of the cutting-edge lighting technology at ICFF is exciting. But equally exciting is the continued popularity of contemporary designs that embrace traditional handcrafts, including hand-built and wheel-thrown ceramics.
Among our favorite examples were table lamps by Look Book participant Vy Voi, a New York- and Vietnam-based studio run by industrial designer and ceramicist Steffany Trần. Designs like the Khoai Môn (Taro), seen here, combined handmade ceramic bases and zeppelin-like Dó paper shades, which are traditionally made in Vietnam from the inner bark of the Dó tree.
7. Handmade Ceramics
Seeing all of the cutting-edge lighting technology at ICFF is exciting. But equally exciting is the continued popularity of contemporary designs that embrace traditional handcrafts, including hand-built and wheel-thrown ceramics.
Among our favorite examples were table lamps by Look Book participant Vy Voi, a New York- and Vietnam-based studio run by industrial designer and ceramicist Steffany Trần. Designs like the Khoai Môn (Taro), seen here, combined handmade ceramic bases and zeppelin-like Dó paper shades, which are traditionally made in Vietnam from the inner bark of the Dó tree.
Ceramic artist Daniel Shapiro’s funky lighting designs, which caught our eye last year at the fair (and also won last year’s ICFF Editors Award for lighting), once again exemplified the whimsy behind many of the ceramic lighting designs. Made from extruded, wheel-thrown and hand-built stoneware, many of Shapiro’s sculptural designs (including this Loop floor lamp) stand upward of 7 feet tall, which is no small feat when working with handmade ceramics. At the show, he presented new pieces from his Rumpus collection, which is similarly tube-y, and other new designs including a Splat lamp with 24 karat overglaze and a ceramic chair with a hand-felted wool seat.
8. Lighthearted Design
Speaking of whimsy, a handful of the lighting fixtures at the fair seemed to be designed simply to lift spirits. Launch Pad participant Buddy Design, for example, took a literal approach with its trio of Buddy “wellness companion” lights — Arvin, Puppy and this little guy, Teddy. The rechargeable lights are intended to create a sense of connection with users in order to promote comfort and well-being. And in addition to being cute, each light has adjustable brightness and color settings, so users can set a mood based on their activity.
Speaking of whimsy, a handful of the lighting fixtures at the fair seemed to be designed simply to lift spirits. Launch Pad participant Buddy Design, for example, took a literal approach with its trio of Buddy “wellness companion” lights — Arvin, Puppy and this little guy, Teddy. The rechargeable lights are intended to create a sense of connection with users in order to promote comfort and well-being. And in addition to being cute, each light has adjustable brightness and color settings, so users can set a mood based on their activity.
Another design that elicited smiles was this adorable ButterFly table lamp by young, bubbly design duo Yingxi Ji and Youtian Duan of Another.World. The playful design won hearts and the 2024 Best of Launch Pad award for lighting.
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Wood — and especially wood manipulated in creative ways — was a top material choice among the lighting designers at this year’s ICFF, both among the main exhibitors and those in the Wanted portion of the fair, which is dedicated to supporting emerging design.
This curvaceous Helena pendant by Katie Kilanowski was one shining example. Kilanowski, a San Francisco woodworker and lighting designer, was a participant in ICFF’s Launch Pad at Wanted program, which showcases concepts and prototypes by independent international designers (and included many of the designs you’ll see here). Her roughly 3-foot-long shade is made from steam-bent ash and surrounds a frosted glass bulb. The light shines through a translucent material connecting the wood pieces to create a soft, ambient glow.
Creative approaches to wood were also behind many of the standout contemporary furniture pieces at the fair. You can read about that and other furniture design in our furniture trend report from the show.
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