Let there be light: Chandelier designs that enliven your space

Chandeliers are usually the focal point of any space. While conventionally used to deck up living rooms, chandeliers can also be used to embellish other areas in your home. They have the potential to help set the mood and successfully uplift the interiors of a room. STIR picks these eight chandeliers that are striking and exude a strong character. These exquisite lighting fixtures reflect the passion of the designers and their journey working with the medium of light. The chandeliers explore the relation of function and form as embodied in spatial design.

1. XYZ by Bybeau

The XYZ collection by Portugese brand Bybeau is a minimalist, modular lighting range. For this awe-inspiring series, Bybeau’s inspiration was the language of architecture—the three-dimensional axis, where points in space can be positioned by x, y and z coordinates. This one-of-a-kind chandelier exhibits light across each axis from the central hub, the clean lines incorporating cutting-edge bluetooth technology and avant-garde magnetic engineering. XYZ offers users an incredible degree of articulation, independent axis control, and dynamic tunable light, showcasing a great understanding of the role lighting plays in our wellbeing. “To keep the integrity of the design, we had to integrate minimalist forms and shapes with complex engineering. A battle that would see us working against the boundaries of physics,” states Beau McClellan, Creative Director of Bybeau.

2. Wisteria Chandelier by Bethan Laura Wood

Unveiled in 2020, this whimsical chandelier has small ‘flower lights’ that create coloured shadow play with the wisteria petals and a central beam for when more directional light is required. The stained glass-like ombre of the petals is evocative of the Art Nouveau glass work of designer Emile Gallé. Each petal is individually hand dyed in Bethan Laura Wood’s studio to create a complex and unique ‘blossom’ for each chandelier. For the body of the lighting installation, hand-bent aluminium branches were curved around the central steel core. The steel core, which was made by anodizing specialist, Neal Feay, complements the tones of the wisteria. This eye-catching lighting fixture’s ​​colours grow in vibrancy, as day becomes night, creating a perfect atmosphere for an intimate evening.

3. Bird Chandelier by Sebastian Errazuriz

The Bird Chandelier by Sebastian ErraZuriz is a traditional crystal lamp covered with 50 3D printed birds in bronze and sandstone. The multicoloured birds contrast with the shiny crystals to create a unique sight. Almost as fragile and delicate as the glass pieces themselves, the birds are immortalised as decoration, offering a cold and eerie aesthetic. The almost life-like birds add character to the otherwise traditional crystal chandelier. The limited-edition Bird Chandelier was inspired by a similar lamp at ErraZuriz’s grandmother’s house on which birds would occasionally sit on. The distinctive Bird Chandelier is available in four different sizes.

4. Porca Miseria! by Ingo Maurer

This dramatic chandelier has been designed by late iconic lighting designer, Ingo Maurer. ‘Porca Miseria!’ is what an Italian wife calls her philandering husband as she hurls plates at his head. The phrase aptly describes this chandelier of porcelain tableware fragments that seem to be exploding outwards. This arresting lighting fixture was first used in an installation in a historical villa near Lindau, Germany. “I am fascinated by pictures of explosions, especially seen in slow motion, and I wanted to challenge today’s chandelier mania, which is conservative and humourless. A crystal chandelier can be beautiful, but so can the sight of breaking porcelain. Dynamite—an aesthetic tool?” Maurer had stated. This ​​porcelain and steel chandelier is not part of the brand’s regular collection. It is only available on special request.

5. Flamenco by Jiri Krisica for Sans Souci

This magnificent chandelier was designed by Jiri Krisica for luxury lighting brand, Sans Souci. The Flamenco chandelier features hand-blown glass pieces in a playful optical pattern, which are hung from the ceiling by polished stainless steel strings. Smitten with Spainʼs sights as well as its culture, designer Krisica was particularly touched by Andalusian flamenco dancers. Their performance, filled with emotion and passion, prompted him to imprint their movement into glass. This piece showcases an optical pattern resembling the undulation of the dancersʼ skirts. The edges are equally waved, enhancing the overall dynamism. The Flamenco chandelier is available in two optical patterns, both inspired by Spain’s flamenco dancers. Moreover, the Flamenco chandelier can be customised in various sizes and colours.

6. Illan Lamp by Zsuzsanna Horvath for Luceplan

Hungarian designer, Zsuzsanna Horvath, has crafted a delicate chandelier using laser-cut birch plywood for Italian lighting company, Luceplan. The Ilan Lamp employs precise laser-cutting technology to create equidistant circular lines from a thin sheet of plywood. These thin wooden outlines of circles are suspended together to create the lamp. A golden-hued LED light is placed inside the top part of the lampshade. This light penetrates through the translucent lampshade to display a warm, diffused glow. “Translucency, flexibility and a delicate undulated movement are the distinctive characteristics of the Illan Lamp. The simple concentric cutting motifs shape wood into a three-dimensional sculptural object that reacts to the slightest movement of the air, while the warm glow of the light creates a relaxing sensation, reflecting on the wooden surface in harmonious resonance,” states Horvath.

7. English Garden Chandelier by Matthew Williamson for Pooky

Designer Matthew Williamson conceptualised the English Garden Chandelier for London-based lighting brand, Pooky. This chandelier is part of Williamson’s English Garden collection. The beautiful chandelier with its creepers and climbers brings a verdant English garden indoors. The English Garden Chandelier is made of iron and brass and is finished in a distressed grey and gold finish. It features six bulbs sprouting from golden roses, all subtly antiqued. Travel to the British countryside with the English Garden Chandelier!

8. Valse au Crepuscule by Larose Guyon

The Valse au Crepuscule chandelier is a part of Larose Guyon’s Limited Edition Automne collection. Valse au Crepuscule, the third piece of the Automne collection, is defiant, yet discreet, eliciting the beauty of a suspended moment in time. Its artistic design ingeniously blends nature’s forms with the opulence of jewellery. The chandelier has hundreds of brass fibre ‘leaves’ hanging from a hand-woven net of golden chains. Warm light emanates from translucent hand-blown glass, infusing a captivating shimmer onto its 24K gold-plated adornments. Furthermore, for every purchase of the Automne Collection, Guyon, in collaboration with non-profit organization, One Tree Planted, will allocate a portion of its profits to planting 1000 trees. “We are a lighting design firm, with a small-town soul, and this collection captures the true essence of the Larose Guyon story. Automne is inspired by nature and has been meticulously handcrafted into an exclusive collection for those seeking a fashionable, functional works of art, rather than a simple lighting fixture,” says Audrée L. Larose, co-founder of Larose Guyon.