Green Lighting Fixtures that are Stylish, Clever, or Just Plain Quirky

Often taken for granted and under-appreciated, lighting is actually a critical element of interior design. Without it, we won’t be able to see and appreciate a space in its full Kodachrome glory!

As green living becomes a way of life, the focus on lighting still centers around energy efficiency, such as how much light per watt can an LED fixture eke out. Although energy conservation is important, it’s equally important to have f un accent lighting as well. Here is a collection of unique and creative earth friendly decorative lighting fixtures.

Making the Extraordinary from the Ordinary – enPieza, a design firm from Madrid, concocted a shimmery chandelier out of discarded Bic pens, which are apparently as plentiful in Spain as they are over here! This version is made with clear and black plastic pens. The fixtures are available 32” h x 20.5” w or 47” h x 35” w.

2 chandeliers showing recycled clear and black plastic Bic pens — Chandelier of recycled clear and black plastic Bic pens

This chandelier in iconic yellow and black Bic pens have a pop-art look to it.

Chandelier of recycled yellow and black plastic Bic pens

For those who love reading, here is a light fixture made of what else – books! With thousands of used books heading for the landfill, Brit designer Lucy Norman is helping to off-load some of these books by turning them into fixtures aptly called ‘Light Reading’.

View of the pendant fixture from below — View of the pendant fixture Light Reading from below

Each page is folded in half to create a number of circular forms. The paper is artfully cut to reveal a visual texture that is at once familiar and alien.

Close up of the construction of the lighting

The Trash Me Lamp by architect and industrial designer Victor Vetterlein stays true to its name. It’s made of recycled materials and designed to be recycled at the end of life, so instead of ashes to ashes, this product is trash to trash!

The light fixture is hand crafted from the pulp of 4 paper egg cartons. It sports a red cloth electrical cord with recyclable electrical parts and is fastened with aluminum screw posts.

The light fixture shows the recycled egg crate texture — The light fixture’s texture reinforces the pared down industrial look

A totally organic design solution – the desk lamp uses a paper bag filled with bird seed to stabilize the base.

Cut away view of the desk lamp showing the cavity for the bird seeds in the base

I love mood lighting for its dramatic impact and Neoz Lighting has come out with 2 truly exciting portable lighting products. The Australian firm offers an award winning collection of cordless rechargeable lamps that allows you to light up anytime, anywhere, legally!

The fixtures are available with LED or halogen light bulbs, depending on whether energy efficiency or task lighting is needed. The lighting is wildly popular with the hospitality industry, especially among beach front resorts. Apparently the romantic candle light look without the accompanying hazards makes a great selling point!

The products are designed for sustainability so all core components are replaceable, upgradable and recyclable. The fixtures use Lithium-ion battery technology which is one of the greenest choices.

Restuarant showing cordless lighting on table — The table lamps allow varied brightness levels, including a candle light option, for intimate tête-à-têtes indoors

Dinner for two on a beach with cordless lamps for ambient lighting — …or outdoors!

The other product category is called ‘illuminated furniture’. As a unique type of dimmable, illuminated seating that is also suitable for indoor or outdoor applications, it is one Cool Stool…

The furniture of UV stabilized, recyclable, and weather proof polyethylene provides a soft ambient glow. Like the lighting products, it is available in 1.1 W LED.

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