Humans are funny. We’ll drop a fortune on the perfect heels, only to keep them boxed for a special 'someday,' or invest in a stunning sofa no one’s allowed to sit on, enshrined in clear plastic like it’s on display at the Met. But what’s the point of luxury if you can’t actually live with it? That’s a question Brigette Romanek has been answering for years – and now, she’s doing it in lighting form.
The interior designer behind homes for Beyoncé and Gwyneth Paltrow has just launched a collection with Crate & Barrel, and the lighting ideas deliver on exactly what she’s known for: livable luxe. It’s a phrase she coined, a category she defined, and the guiding principle behind a lineup that feels just as good in person as it looks in a photo.
The materials are elevated – burnished brass, veined alabaster, solid marble – but the pieces aren’t overly precious. A floor lamp might feel like sculpture, but it’s dimmable and bulb-compatible. A statement sconce might read like jewelry, but it's also a piece that will actually blend into your existing space. Humble wicker is anchored by marble.
Where’s the lighting? Right in front of you. The Cubey Lamp’s stacked forms disguise lighting as art, hiding in plain sight.
Much like her signature style, Brigette’s collection is artful and unexpected. Sure, there are some familiar forms (take, for instance, the Beachwood Table Lamp) that make this collection appeal to everyone, but the collection really shines in its oddities: the geometric stacks, the semicircle silhouettes, the pieces that borrow from sculpture and architecture without feeling stuffy. The pieces that feel more like a piece of art than lighting.
Brigette's collection isn't about following current lighting trends; it's setting them.
Starting off strong with the pièce de résistance: a table lamp that doesn’t look like a table lamp at all. There’s no oversized shade. Instead, stacked linen-wrapped cubes do the diffusing, casting a soft, architectural glow. At 34 inches tall, it doesn’t need to sit on a table, either. It holds its own on a pedestal (literally), flanking your biggest furniture or brightening that awkward corner you never quite figured out.
You don’t often see industrial design flirting with florals, but that’s the balanced brilliance of this next piece: three hand-sculpted shades, suspended like floating lilypad leaves in a pond. The effect is delicately strong. Try it as a kitchen island lighting idea or suspended above bed.
‘C’ could be for ‘Cali.’ Or ‘cool.’ Or, more likely: ‘coming home with me.’ This standout semicircular sconce, done in burnished brass with a creamy, veined alabaster center, commands attention, even when it’s off. It was made to flank something special: a statement artwork, a fluted credenza, a moment. If a pendant is the necklace, think of these living room wall lighting ideas as the earrings.
And speaking of a grand entrance – the show’s about to begin. These vintage spotlight-inspired pendants are giving Golden Age of Hollywood, in a way that works just as well over a dining table as it does above an office desk. The sleek steel silhouette reads warm thanks to its brass finish, and while one can hold its own (say, spotlighting a side table), there’s real drama in numbers. Try a trio.
Floor lamps have been having a renaissance for several years now, and this one proves exactly why. On the surface, it’s a classic silhouette. But blow up the proportions, square off the linen shade, and anchor it with a sculptural burl veneer base, and suddenly the tried-and-true living room lighting idea becomes a conversation piece.
Golden Calacatta marble and wicker make an unlikely but welcome pair. Arguably the most versatile piece in the collection, this lamp could live anywhere: a study, an entryway, the top of a credenza. It reads laid-back but luxe, like a designer blazer thrown over your favorite daily jeans – which also happens to be the spirit of the entire collection.
If Brigette’s unpretentious take on pretty has you rethinking your lighting, just wait until you see what she’s done for the kitchen. Her Our Place collab brings that same designer sensibility to the stovetop.
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