Oyster Carla Baz

Carla Baz is a French-Lebanese designer dedicated to foster synergies between her innovative approach to furniture or lighting and the very accomplished skills of Lebanese artisans. After studying interior architecture at ESAG Penninghen in Paris, she pursued a masters in product design for the luxury industry at the University of Art and Design Lausanne where she had the opportunity to work on several projects under the supervision of international designers such as Ronan Bouroullec, BarberOsgerby, Marti Guixé, Pierre Charpin and Humberto and Fernando Campana. She then engaged in diverse professional experiences, working in London for Burberry, Vivienne Westwood and Zaha Hadid until she felt it was time to explore her own lines. Thus began a very inspiring sequence of experiments which resulted in small editions of her sculptural and functional furniture and earned her the Brussels based Boghossian Fondation’s 2013 Design Prize. All her projects are rooted in that elaborate relationship where innovative ideas meet noble materials that are worked by hand.

The right table lamp, outwardly sculptural chandelier or understated wall pendant can work wonders for your home. While we’re indebted to thinkers like Thomas Edison for critically important advancements in lighting and electricity, we’re still finding new ways to customize illumination to fit our personal spaces all these years later. A wide range of antique and vintage lighting can be found on 1stDibs.

Today, lighting designers like the self-taught Bec Brittain have used the flexible structure of LEDs to craft glamorous solutions by working with what is typically considered a harsh lighting source. By integrating glass and mirrors, reflection can be used to soften the glow from LEDs and warmly welcome light into any space.

Although contemporary innovators continue to impress, some of the classics can’t be beat. 

Just as gazing at the stars allows you to glimpse the universe’s past, vintage chandeliers like those designed by Gino Sarfatti and J. & L. Lobmeyr, for example, put on a similarly stunning show, each with a rich story to tell.

As dazzling as it is, the Arco lamp, on the other hand, prioritizes functionality — it’s wholly mobile, no drilling required. Designed in 1962 by architect-product designers Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, the piece takes the traditional form of a streetlamp and creates an elegant, arching floor fixture for at-home use.

There is no shortage of modernist lighting similarly prized by collectors and casual enthusiasts alike — there are Art Deco table lamps created in a universally appreciated style, the Tripod floor lamp by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, Greta Magnusson Grossman's sleek and minimalist Grasshopper lamps and, of course, the wealth of mid-century experimental lighting that emerged from Italian artisans at Arredoluce, FLOS and many more are hallmarks in illumination innovation. 

With decades of design evolution behind it, home lighting is no longer just practical. Crystalline shaping by designers like Gabriel Scott turns every lighting apparatus into a luxury accessory. A new installation doesn’t merely showcase a space; carefully chosen ceiling lights, table lamps and floor lamps can create a mood, spotlight a favorite piece or highlight your unique personality.

The sparkle that your space has been missing is waiting for you amid the growing collection of antique, vintage and contemporary lighting for sale on 1stDibs.