The Best Lighting from Our 2024 Small/Cool Design Awards
You could have the most magazine-worthy, beautifully designed space, but it’s all for nothing if the lighting falls flat. Lucky for you, Apartment Therapy just launched the first-ever Small/Cool Design Awards to highlight the very best products on our editors’ radars, across six categories — furniture, decor, kitchen & bath, textiles, finishes, and (last but not least) lighting.
If you’re stumped on where to start in terms of brightening your space, check out the best light fixtures — including portable lamps, wall-mounted picture lights, and more — that have earned the official Apartment Therapy stamp of approval.
Best Lighting
- Renter-Friendly: Tulip Gem Natural Cover
- Ceiling Fan: Dreo Smart Ceiling Fan CLF712S
- Picture Light: Pooky Smaller Blake Picture Light
- Floor Lamp: Urban Outfitters Sanna Side Table Floor Lamp
- Stackable: Nella Lighting Cici Lamp 6″ Stack
- Portable: Humber Portable Tall Close Top Glass Mushroom Lamp
- Double-Duty: IKEA VARMBLIXT LED Table/Wall Lamp
What Makes Up This Category of Winners
In this lighting category, you’ll find everything from stylish ceiling fans (yes, those do exist) to functional two-in-one designs to just plain cool table lamps. Consider these the best ways to brighten any space — especially rentals.
How We Picked Our Winners
Of course, there’s so much good design out there, so to compile this list of bests, we first consulted our editorial and commerce teams for the need-to-know products on their radars, plus reviewed a handful of reader-favorite bestsellers. We also welcomed submissions from some of our go-to brands, but to be considered for inclusion, all products must have been released within the past three years and cost under $1,000 (with the exception of sofas).
We tapped a team of in-the-know panelists to share their own design-forward faves as well: Ellen Van Dusen, founder of colorful textile brand Dusen Dusen; Sebastian Brauer, senior vice president of product design at Crate & Barrel and Crate & Kids; Priya Vij, founder of cabinet hardware company Hapny Home; Sarah Sherman Samuel, interior and furniture designer; DuVäl, interior designer and Small/Cool pop-up alum; Deirdre Maloney and Minya Quirk, co-founders of online shopping platform Afternoon Light and two of Apartment Therapy’s 2024 Design Changemakers; and Jeremiah Brent, interior designer and Queer Eye star.
2024 Small/Cool Design Awards
Want to see more winners? See here for the full list of winners for the 2024 Small/Cool Design Awards.
All prices were accurate at the time of publishing, but may have changed since then.