Author: modculture

Slightly unusual and certainly ahead of its time is the Flos Viscontea suspension light by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni.

It was actually designed back in 1960, even if the looks are more in the way of 1970. For your money, you get a white powder-coated steel structure with a 'cocoon' resin used for the actual diffuser, protected by a transparent finish. All of which sounds a bit technical, so let's just stick with a strange and wonderful space age light fitting, able to hold up to a 100w light bulb for plenty of brightness.

Yours for £940.

Find out more at the Nest website

Not a person, Frank is the name of a design team consisting of Pam West and Matt Edmonds. And they are responsible for the Opal table range, available exclusively from Heals.

And we love it. Take your pick from the occasional table and telephone table above – or go for the longer coffee table, all featuring those cool mid-century-style walnut curves, finished off with tempered glass in a choice of colours.

See all online, with prices starting at £288.

Find out more at the Heals website

It's always good to see cool retro design that doesn't cost a fortune – and thats certainly the case with the Newgate Metro clock.

Oozing that 1930s vibe, the Metro mantel clock is a smaller version of the original wall-based Metro, keeping the same look, curves and vintage-style digits, but reducing the size and adding an alarm.

Take your pick from red or black, both retailing for £20.

Find out more at the Utility Design website

Sometimes a picture doesn't quite do a product justice – and that's definitely the case with these Habitat Sit garden planters.

But if you see them 'in the flesh' in a store, you're sure to be impressed. Very much in the 70s space age style, the Sit planters are big no matter which one you got for – 54 x 60cm for the 'tall' planter or 82 x 28cm for the 'wide' one. Both are made of lacquered fibreglass and both come with contrasting coloured pots inside. And if you want something with impact in your garden, they're well worth a look.

Prices start at £89.

Find out more at the Habitat website