How Interior Designers are Illuminating Spring

With a new season at the doorstep, it’s a ripe time of year to reset, reinvigorate and rethink the details. We’re steadfast believers in the simple idea that subtle changes in the design of a space can make all the difference in your mindset, even as the days—thankfully—get steadily longer and brighter. No matter the time of day or season, the right lighting can transform a room from lackluster to vibrant, disparate to complete, demure to aspirational. We've gathered a fresh crop of modern lighting inspiration from our community of contemporary, forward-looking interior designers.

Playfully Paradoxical

Dynamism is the heart of this Long Island living room by designer Max Aboody. Clearly defined modern art and furniture—be it streamlined linear steel brass side tables or organic bentwood lounge chairs upholstered in linen—sits in contrast with the space’s inherent, more traditional architectural details, all elegantly unified by an earthy palette of greens and browns. Topping it all off: our Papillons Chandelier suspends from from the vaulted ceiling above, evoking Mondrian and Miró in a playfully modern statement. 

Punctuated Poise

Our minimally scaled, powerfully illuminating Thin-Line Pendant perfectly punctuates this Fort Lauderdale kitchen designed by Studio 818. With its signature minimal expression, the pared-back linear aluminum luminaire suspends gracefully above a materially maximalist marble island, pulling together the mossy hues that surround it and creating a seamlessly integrated kitchen design. 

Everyday Dining

Sometimes lighting unifies and deputes the total design of a space. Such is the case with this Vancouver-based dining room designed by Alexandra Interiors, where our Sabon Chandelier’s black aluminum form amplifies the spectrum of inky hues—a statement wall here, leather upholstered dining chairs there—and contrasts the lighter natural ashy white tones that surround it. This sophisticatedly asymmetric design also designates space-within-a-space, anchoring the dining area within the room’s open-plan concept. 

Pared Back Perfection

When it comes to illuminating a bathroom, sometimes less is more. We recommend scaling your approach when layering light in tandem with natural illumination sources. Case and point: this Santa Fe guest bathroom designed by Esteban Interiors is proof-positive of the power of layering your lighting sources. Our minimalist Stiletto Dimmable Bath Bar flanks both sides of an oval vanity mirror, providing flexible and ample directional light—day and night. 

At its best, we believe that design is both functional and beautiful at once, creating seamless spaces through practical applications and streamlined forms. Share your spaces illuminated by SONNEMAN by tagging @sonnemanlight to be featured.