Britannica Chandelier Horizontal

After finishing his studies in finance and marketing in London and New York, Istanbul-born designer Barlas Baylar established Hudson Furniture in 2004 in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. Baylar’s reputable firm draws on modern architecture and classic Art Deco design to produce intriguing, complex lighting fixtures and furnishings. 

At its New York City atelier, Hudson Furniture’ highly skilled craftspeople create dining tables, chairs and decorative objects by hand, giving each piece its own individual provenance. With respect to sourcing its materials, the company prioritizes conservation (Hudson is a repository for legally harvested petrified wood).

Baylar’s firm utilizes strictly dead or dying wood from around the world, accepting salvaged material and wood from trees downed by storm damage or other natural occurrences, and owing to his love for nature, he seeks to bring the outdoors into interior spaces so that its beauty can be admired as pieces of functional but sculptural furniture. 

From the exquisite hand-blown globe glass elements that comprise his Valiant lighting collection to sculptural, striking polished bronze branches that wrap around his Meta credenza, Bayler designs provocative furniture that elevates any space. Over the years Hudson Furniture has partnered with the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Tom Ford and more.  

Whether it's a stand-alone coffee table or part of a dining room chair set on display in the firm’s New York City showroom, Hudson Furniture continues to create marvelous, one-of-a-kind pieces to be cherished for generations to come.

Find Barlas Baylar tables, seating and lighting on 1stDibs.

Chandeliers — simple in form, inspired by candelabras and originally made of wood or iron — first made an appearance in early churches. For those wealthy enough to afford them for their homes in the medieval period, a chandelier's suspended lights likely exuded imminent danger, as lit candles served as the light source for fixtures of the era. Things have thankfully changed since then, and antique and vintage chandeliers and pendant lights are popular in many interiors today.

While gas lighting during the late 18th century represented an upgrade for chandeliers — and gas lamps would long inspire Danish architect and pioneering modernist lighting designer Poul Henningsen — it would eventually be replaced with the familiar electric lighting of today.

The key difference between a pendant light and a chandelier is that a pendant incorporates only a single bulb into its design. Don’t mistake this for simplicity, however. An Art Deco–styled homage to Sputnik from Murano glass artisans Giovanni Dalla Fina (note: there is more than one lighting fixture that shares its name with the iconic mid-century-era satellite — see Gino Sarfatti’s design too), with handcrafted decorative elements supported by a chrome frame, is just one stunning example of the elaborate engineering that can be incorporated into every component of a chandelier.

Chandeliers have evolved over time, but their classic elegance has remained unchanged. Not only will the right chandelier prove impressive in a given room, but it can also offer a certain sense of practicality. These fixtures can easily illuminate an entire space, while their elevated position prevents them from creating glare or straining one’s eyes. Certain materials, like glass, can complement naturally lit settings without stealing the show. Brass, on the other hand, can introduce an alluring, warm glow. While LEDs have earned a bad reputation for their perceived harsh bluish lights and a loss of brightness over their life span, the right design choices can help harness their lighting potential and create the perfect mood. A careful approach to lighting can transform your room into a peaceful and cozy nook, ideal for napping, reading or working.

For midsize spaces, a wall light or sconce can pull the room together and get the lighting job done. Perforated steel rings underneath five bands of handspun aluminum support a rich diffusion of light within Alvar Aalto's Beehive pendant light, but if you’re looking to brighten a more modest room, perhaps a minimalist solution is what you’re after. The mid-century modern furniture designer Charlotte Perriand devised her CP-1 wall lamps in the 1960s, in which a repositioning of sheet-metal plates can redirect light as needed.

The versatility and variability of these lighting staples mean that, when it comes to finding something like the perfect chandelier, you’ll never be left hanging. From the whimsical — like the work of Beau & Bien’s Sylvie Maréchal, frequently inspired by her dreams — to the classic beauty of Paul Ferrante's fixtures, there is a style for every room. With designs for pendant lights and chandeliers across eras, colors and materials, you’ll never run out of options to explore on 1stDibs.