A nice mix of styles on display with the Spiro angled table lamp.
The lower half (the arm and base that is) are very much in a modernist style, right down to the classic switch on the base. But the actual light has more of a 70s look about it. Saying that, the two go together well, whether you go for the table lamp in cream and chrome or black and chrome.
It’s sized at 70cm x 20cm, priced at £97.50.
Find out more at the Graham & Green website
Just to show you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a piece of smart design, here’s the B&Q’s Rainbow space age light shade.
It’s incredibly eye-catching and ideal to finish off a room with a space age feel. It’s also lightweight, made of brushed aluminium and easy to hang – just clip it on.
It can take up to a 100w bulb and is an absolute bargain at £18.98.
Yes, it’s rapidly approaching that time of year when everyone expects a Christmas card – and you have to go and find something that isn’t too tacky to send. Well, let us save you the trouble with this rather smart 1950s Baubles Christmas cards.
Designed by Phoebe Moore and available online from the V&A, the cards offer up a 50s-themed design that’s very festive, but not too cheesy. And you’ll get bonus points for being eco-friendly, with the paper made from sustainable sources, the envelopes made from recycled juice cartons and the wrapping created from cornstarch.
A pack of 10 same design cards with plain white envelopes retails for £6.
Find out more at the V&A website
"A chair is a chair, is a chair, is a chair … but a seat does not necessarily have to be a chair. It can be anything as long it is ergonomically correct. A seat could even be a small and soft Pony on which you can ‘ride’ or sit sideways."
So said the designer Eero Aarnio and low and behold he designed the Pony Chair in 1970. Whilst this chair obviously will appeal to children with its oversized cartoon-like form, it is actually large enough for adult use, if you so desired.
Vertigo Interiors are selling the Pony Chair for under £200 so it might not be an authorised version (USA based sites like Nova68 are selling them for over $2000), but it looks pretty much the same and if you are buying for a child, they probably won’t mind.
The perfect way to brighten up a dull wall is to invest in these Inke Heiland Vintage Wallpaper Wildlife wall graphics.
Created from 60s and 70s wallpaper, these animal silhouettes comes in kit form, complete with paste and a brush. All you have to do is decide where you want them. There’s a good range of creatures to choose from, including giraffes, monkeys, lions, elephants and birds, but if you see one you like, you’ll have to be quick – each wallpaper is limited, so each animal is effectively a limited edition.
Especially great for kids’ rooms, you can pick them up online from Supernice, prices vary depending on your choice of creature.
It might not be cheap, but this classic Verner Panton Onion pendant light will certainly impress your friends and neighbours.
Dating back to 1977 and reissued by Verpan, the light fitting is available in the white shown here or in brushed metal, both using vertical strips to create that ‘onion’ effect (although personally I think it’s nearer garlic) as well as impressively diffusing light around the room. And of course, your design cool.
The one downside is that price – a rather hefty £945 – bulb not included.
