When I was in Los Angeles last month I ran into an old favorite that I hadn't seen in awhile: the Cube Lamp by Lampa. Kelly van Patter was using two of them in her bedroom, where they cast an lovely soft glow over the bedside and were super easy to turn on and off by just touching the base of the lamp...
It sounds silly, but being able to turn on and off the lamp by just touching it makes a big difference when the alternative is fishing for the switch under the shade or struggling for the switch on the cord, which always falls down the back of the side table. It's a really nice touch.
What I also liked about the Cube was it's relatively small size, which makes it great for a bedside. It is hard to find smaller bedside lamps that have a luxurious feeling. This one is very modern with a small footprint, but it's chameleon-like in it's ability to fit into any number of styles, and it's shade makes it seem bigger than it is.
The Cube lamp is made of powder coated steel with a white linen shade and a three way switch that gets you low, medium and high light. It comes in white (like Kelly's) but also in bright color: Clay, Canary, Orange, Lichen, and Watermelon (90 more colors are available for custom orders), is 10 x 10 x 16" and goes for $335 retail.
>> Lampa.com
>> AT over Los Angeles: Day 6
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
"...being able to turn on and off the lamp by just touching it makes a big difference when the alternative is fishing for the switch under the shade or struggling for the switch on the cord, which always falls down the back of the side table. "
Maxwell--
This is why I have nearly all of my lamps on Lutron Credenza Dimmers:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=70717-000000539-TT300NLH-WH&lpage=none&cm_mmc=search_yssp-_-Unassigned-_-32409-_-Lutron%20300%20Watt%20White%20Credenza%20Lamp%20Dimmer%20With%20Nightlight
...the little nightlight makes it easy to find on the nightstand too.
view bepsf's profile
Talk about a markup. There can't be $30 worth of materials in that thing.
view Indy Jeffrey's profile
A friend of mine has a lamp in her living room that turns on and off by touch ... at a party, we accidentally discovered that if one person was touching the lamp, someone else could turn it on and off by touching that person! We immediately experimented to find out how long a chain we could build and have it still work ... I think we got up to three people.
That said, the only lamp I'd pay $335 for is a great big, hand-crafted, intricately carved porcelain or silver one ... not this little cube!
view Jane's profile
I want.
view ammanda's profile
You can also buy touch sensitive switches and use them on anything with a metal base - or even set up a completely different object to serve as the touchable switch.
That lamp is very cute and I'd totally love a couple in my bedroom, but not at $335 each.
view home body's profile
Anyone know of a nice knock off? These look great
view chusmabilly's profile