Many who have been lucky enough to witness the aurora borealis claim that it’s the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen. So beautiful that it provokes deep thought and occasionally sparks a complete change in lifestyle. We’ve seen our fair share of beautiful Northern lights too. They may not be the same Northern lights that people travel thousands of miles to see, but they are from Norway and they are small enough to get into your home.
Northern’s design approach revolves around simplicity. Pared-back designs emphasise the stark, bold shapes of the each style. Here are our favourite Northern lights, excluding for the actual northern lights.
Northern Birdy
Birdy is one of Northern’s signature models. This modernist lamp was originally designed in 1952 and was produced and sold by the Norwegian electricity company Sønnico. In 1954 the design was awarded with a golden medal at the Milan triennale and it still looks award-worthy in 2020. Birdy comes in a range of sizes, but our favourites are the Table Lamp and the floor Lamp. Both the Birdy Table Lamp and the Birdy Floor Lamp emphasise the bird-like features of the designs, in particular the long thin structural bars.
Blush
Northern’s Black Blush Pendant Light is at once the centre of attention and a stylish bystander. It’s designed to take centre stage without dominating the attention of a room. It does this with its understated, minimal design made up of several bold block shapes. When the pendant light is turned off, it’s easy to forget that it’s hanging in the room, but it reveals its true personality at the flick of a switch.
Northern Buddy
Buddy’s sleek lines flow effortlessly into one another. Whereas many of Northern’s stylish lights are characterised by clean lines and sharp angles, the Buddy series makes use of more natural angles. The multi-directional shade channels a soft light for a calm ambience. The beauty of Northern lighting is that the lack of overt detailing means that each style can happily slot into a variety of different room layouts. While Northern’s Buddy Floor Lamp stands tall on a solid base, the Buddy Table Lamp conveniently bends over a pot, ideal for decluttering a desk full of pens and clips.
Balancer
Northern’s Black Balancer Floor Lamp is one of the most striking elements of the whole collection. Made up of two major components, this lamp relies on an ingeniously simple cantilevering mechanism. At the turn of a swivel key, the half-sphere lamp shade levers upwards to diffuse a soft light on its surroundings, or folds down to provide indirect mood lighting. Even when Balancer is turned off, it cuts a dramatic shape in any environment.
Northern Circle
Northern’s Black Circle Pendant Light breaks away from traditional chandeliers to make a contemporary statement. Install a single light on its own to make a focal point or combine several Circle Pendants to create a dynamic installation. Echoing the shapes of traditional dream-catchers, Circle Pendant is an intuitive shape that references centuries of design but in a modern style that is a sculptural addition to a room.
Shop Northern at OPUMO.
Find out more about Northern in our rundown of Northern inspirations.
