Salvagni Spider

Known for his use of luxurious materials such as precious metals, warm woods and even gemstones in his extensive range of tables, lighting and decorative objects, Italian architect and interior designer Achille Salvagni is widely collected and celebrated by design enthusiasts around the globe.   

Born in Rome in 1970, Salvagni was raised in a home that was filled with an eclectic mix of early 20th-century furniture and objects, thanks to his father’s buying tours of art and furniture galleries in Milan and Rome. Salvagni’s father was a key influence on his early interest in art and design — the younger Salvagni began drawing furniture at the age of 10. He would later find inspiration in the work of modernist architects like Alvar Aalto and Erik Gunnar Asplund.

Salvagni attended Sapienza University in Rome, obtaining a degree in architecture in 1998. He subsequently won a grant to study at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. 

In 2002, Salvagni founded his architecture firm Salvagni Architetti where his early projects included supermarket interiors, grand Italian apartments and yacht cabins. In 2007, he won an award at the World Yacht Trophies in Cannes for his work on the M.Y. Mikymar, a 120-foot, four-cabin yacht. 

Salvagni’s reputation for his sleek, lavish interiors drew acclaim from critics and fellow designers, and he soon established an elite global clientele. Although his primary focus was on interior design, Salvagni often found himself creating furnishings to complement his decorating projects.

While Salvagni draws from a wide range of historical elements in many of his furniture designs — for example, his Lancea table lamp is inspired by a voluminous skirt worn by Queen Elizabeth I — the influence of Art Deco can be seen in some of his coffee tables, wall sconces, side tables and chairs.

“Art Deco is the perfect balance between the past and the future,” Salvagni once said. 

Salvagni has exhibited at several galleries worldwide, including Maison Gerard in Manhattan and the Laguna gallery in London. His first show at the former took place in 2013, and designers like Amy Lau, Victoria Hagan and Jamie Drake bought pieces on behalf of clients. Salvagni's works have also been shown at PAD exhibitions in Paris, London, Monaco and Geneva. 

Find Achille Salvagni decorative objects, seating, storage cabinets and other furniture 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Chandeliers — simple in form, inspired by candelabras and originally made of wood or iron — first made an appearance in early churches.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.