Floor Totem

At 1stDibs, there are many versions of the ideal floor totem for your home. A floor totem — often made from metal, ceramic and wood — can elevate any home. Find 56 options for an antique or vintage floor totem now, or shop our selection of 42 modern versions for a more contemporary example of this long-cherished piece. There are many kinds of the floor totem you’re looking for, from those produced as long ago as the 20th Century to those made as recently as the 21st Century. A floor totem, designed in the Mid-Century Modern, Modern or Art Deco style, is generally a popular piece of furniture. Many designers have produced at least one well-made floor totem over the years, but those crafted by Georges Pelletier, Serge Mouille and Bernard Rooke are often thought to be among the most beautiful.

A floor totem can differ in price owing to various characteristics — the average selling price 1stDibs is $5,684, while the lowest priced sells for $750 and the highest can go for as much as $35,000.

The modern floor lamp is an evolution of torchères — tall floor candelabras that originated in France as a revolutionary development in lighting homes toward the end of the 17th century. Owing to the advent of electricity and the introduction of new materials as a part of lighting design, floor lamps have taken on new forms and configurations over the years. 

In the early 1920s, Art Deco lighting artisans worked with dark woods and modern metals, introducing unique designs that still inspire the look of modern floor lamps developed by contemporary firms such as Luxxu. 

Popular mid-century floor lamps include everything from the enchanting fixtures by the Italian lighting artisans at Stilnovo to the distinctly functional Grasshopper floor lamp created by Scandinavian design pioneer Greta Magnusson-Grossman to the Paracarro floor lamp by the Venetian master glass workers at Mazzega. Among the more celebrated names in mid-century lighting design are Milanese innovators Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, who, along with their eldest brother, Livio, worked for their own firm as architects and designers. While Livio departed the practice in 1952, Achille and Pier Giacomo would go on to design the Arco floor lamp, the Toio floor lamp and more for legendary lighting brands such as FLOS. 

Today’s upscale interiors frequently integrate the otherworldly custom lighting solutions created by a wealth of contemporary firms and designers such as Spain’s Masquespacio, whose Wink floor lamps integrate gold as well as fabric fringes. 

Visual artists and industrial designers have a penchant for floor lamps, possibly because they’re so often a clever marriage of design and the functions of lighting. A good floor lamp can change the mood of any room while adding a touch of elegance to your entire space. Find yours now on 1stDibs.