Matrix Otto Pendant

Renowned among architects and interior designers for its slender and unassuming table lamps, pendants and floor lamps in brushed nickel and varnish-coated aluminum, Italian manufacturer Lumina has been producing lighting solutions for residential and commercial properties all over the globe for several decades. 

Lumina is the brainchild of founder Tommaso Cimini, a Milanese lighting designer who worked as a technician at Artemide prior to establishing his own firm. In 1975, he created a prototype of a very minimalist table lamp — it comprised little more than an articulated arm, a modest-sized diffuser and a transformer that, instead of being tucked inside the base, was visible to anyone who stopped by Cimini’s workbench to admire his clever fixture. 

Cimini’s idea — “lots of light, not much lamp” — was the catalyst for the Daphine table lamp, a deceptively simple design that debuted at the Milan Trade Fair to considerable critical acclaim. 

Based on the success of the now-iconic Daphine lamp, Cimini formed Lumina in Sedriano, a town in Milan, in 1980. The new decade marked the start of an albeit brief era of postmodern design, which would yield innovative, unconventional furnishings and decorative objects in Cimini’s native Italy from the likes of the Memphis Group and others. Together with several notable figures in the field of lighting design, including Riccardo Blumer, Yaacov Kaufman, Walter Monici and Emanuele Ricci, Cimini’s firm created a range of sculptural fixtures in appealing contemporary styles. 

There were Monici’s Tangram metal and aluminum table lamps, which feature a jointed arm and reflector that rotates 360 degrees. Elsewhere, Kaufman’s Matrix pendant light was made of aluminum and steel with 16 moveable arms fitted with halogen or fluorescent bulbs. In the subsequent years, Lumina opened branches in Switzerland and Germany and collaborated with British architecture and design firm Foster + Partners to create sleek pieces such as the Flo desk lamp, Ilium pendant lamp and EVA glass table lamp.

Cimini died in 1997, leaving Lumina to his son Ettore, who runs the company today. Several Lumina lamps, particularly the Daphine, are held in the collections of museums such as the Brooklyn Museum, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and more, and the company’s fixtures are sold in more than 100 countries all over the world. 

Find vintage Lumina table lamps, floor lamps and other 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.