British designer Lee Broom on lighting as a form of art
There’s no excuse for harsh, clinical lighting when much thought has gone into creating the perfect glow. Exhibit A: These spheres.
British designer Lee Broom is illuminating Salone del Mobile arm-in-arm with Lladró, the Spanish artisanal porcelain brand from Tavernes Blanques, near Valencia. This year’s collaborative offering, which features as part of Euroluce’s lighting exhibition in the Rho Fiera, is titled “Cascade”, a sculptural ceiling fixture and table lamp that are Broom’s first foray into porcelain. The spherical form is inspired by the delicate structures of paper lanterns.
“It really started with my visit to the Lladró factory,” Broom tells Monocle sitting in his particularly well-lit office in Shoreditch, London. “The way that Lladró manipulates the material appealed to me; particularly how they coax out a certain translucency. It was both unexpected and beautiful. I suddenly saw the material in a new way.”
As a result of this application of material, the piece has two looks. When turned off, the porcelain pendant takes on a traditional white colouring. Illuminated, however, each aspect hums with a warm orange light. “I am, ultimately, a modernist,” says Broom. “So when I designed it spherically, I knew it would be a challenge to marry up the material with the form. But Lladró has tamed an unpredictable material into something streamlined and classic.”
Broom’s three essential tips for good lighting
1.
Eyes on the scale
“I suppose, to be forward about it, the biggest flaw I see is that people can be afraid of the scale of lighting – particularly in the grander sense. In smaller spaces, the light shouldn’t have to equally be small. It’s a form of artwork. Lighting is supposed to fill the room: let it.”
2.
The ceiling is a surface too
“More often than not, homes have their main sources of light coming from the ceiling, yet they’re plain and underutilised. The walls and floors may be covered in fixtures and artwork and carpets, while the ceiling is left undecorated. Allow your ceiling lights to be sculptural and eye-catching.”
3.
Dim and dimmer
“It seems obvious, but it’s sometimes overlooked: all your lights should be dimmable. That sort of control, particularly of the temperature, is extremely important. It emphasises times of the day, it dictates mood, it changes the texture of a space.”
