Short of actually bringing dead animal parts into your home, the Roost Aluminum Antler Lamp ($220) is one of the best ways we've seen to add natural, rustic flair to your environment. Able to handle bulbs up to 100 watts, the lamp sits atop a set of sand-cast recycled aluminum antlers, and is finished off with a shade made from either cherry or walnut real wood veneer.
Tired of waking up to a grating alarm buzzer? Give the Philips Wake-Up Light ($200) a try. This combination bedside lamp and iPod/iPhone dock gradually wakes you up using light for a more pleasant experience, and also features a built-in dock to let you awaken or just play your favorite music. When it's time to go to bed, the light works its magic in reverse, gradually dimming the light and sound until you've drifted off for the night. [Thanks, Omari]
Give your living area a taste of nautical flair with the Royal Master Sealight Floor Lamp ($1,525). This solid cast aluminum reproduction of a 19th-century British marine light features a telescopic tripod base, a machine-turned gear mechanism for moving the light head, an included 40W filament bulb for soft, glowing light, and timeless style.
If you love industrial-inspired furniture and fixtures, you'll find the Etsy KOZO3 Designer Desk Lamp ($230) doesn't disappoint. With raw, galvanized iron tubing and a little rust at the joints, this handmade lamp provides illumination with an efficient 20-watt halogen bulb. Just tap the custom-designed on/off switch to provide light at home or in the office, adding a distinctive touch to any room. [Thanks, Jeremy]
Everything old is new again, and if you're you're looking for a one-of-a-kind lamp with a bit of that industrial, steampunk vibe, these Robert Ogden Lamps ($700-$1,200) are worth a closer look. Artisan Robert Ogden collects vintage parts from flea markets, factories, and junk yards, combining them by hand to create these unique desktop and floor lamps (or are they art?).
If you're trying to track down the most sought after spirits of 2014, chances are you're out of luck — unless of course, you know about Caskers. A one-stop shop for liquor connoisseurs, Caskers tracked down the bottles that you and other boozehounds searched for the most in 2014 — based on millions of searches — and has them available right now, while they last. So instead of driving all over town with no guarantee of finding that small batch bourbon or premium single malt, look no further than Caskers for the best of the best, easy on the wallet and delivered right to your door.
The products you use every day, like shampoo or shave cream, should always be the best. But drugstore pickings are slim, and online shopping is risky when you don't know what you're paying for. That's why Birchbox Man lets you try before you buy. Subscribers receive a monthly box of grooming and style essentials, all tailored to match their personal profiles. Think woodsy beard oil for the urban lumberjack, or a wool knit tie for the sartorially inclined. If you like what you get, you can buy full-size versions in the Birchbox Shop, with perks like free shipping to sweeten the pot. No more letdowns, duds, or compromises: Just a sink ledge stocked with greatness.
Turn your ordinary E27 or GU10 lightbulb socket into a source of clean light with the Philips Master LED Bulb ($TBA). Available in warm and cool white, each bulb is rated for 45,000 hours of use — 45 times longer than incandescent, 25 times longer than halogen, and 10 times longer than fluorescent — and offers an energy savings of up to 80%, making them the greenest bulbs you can buy. No pricing yet, but expect these to be Grant-expensive.
If you can't get enough of that intoxicating (and sometimes incarcerating) scent, then you'll want to keep one of these around to spark up. With a 60-hour burn time, the Malin + Goetz Cannabis Candle ($52) releases just enough peppery green into the air that it'll get you through any stash droughts.
The Mega Bulb Pendant ($350) by Unique Interieurs offers a retro-spin on overhead lighting. Featuring mouth-blown transparent glass, this overhead light uses a 75 Watt exposed filament lamp for extra cool styling.
The Dear Ingo Lamp ($TBD), which will be known as "the spider lamp" from here on out, is a chandelier made of 16 black metal task lamps. Sure, it's crazy, but it's also kind of awesome. Get your dimmer ready.
If you're going to have candles sitting around, they might as well be black. Baxter of California, in partnership with Joya, has just launched a new series of man-targeted soy wax-based candles called Flammable ($45). Each (black) candle — Cassis Noir, Jasmin Noir, Tubereuse Noire — comes with a custom designed matchbox and a burn time of about 70 hours. As expected, the scents are decidedly masculine.
Hotwicks ($9) definitely aren't your typical candles. With scents like beer, campfire, grass (as in lawn), new car, pancake, pigskin, stripper, popcorn, and the rather scrumptious sounding urinal cake, your place can smell exactly how you want it to. Just be careful with combinations. While beer + grass + pigskin = great gameday memories, beer + hippie + stripper + urinal cake + dryer sheet = that time when you and that weird guy at the airport used your layover in Chicago to get plastered at a strip club, passed out in the bathroom, missed your flight, drove 9 hours home, then tried to cover up the incriminating smell with dryer sheets you bought at the 7-Eleven two blocks from home. Good times.
Celebrate your youth with this Gold Toy Lamp ($7,780) by Ryan McElhinney. Hand crafted at McElhinney's London studio, the lamp is made from recycled toys which are bonded together, and then coated in a high-gloss polyurethane lacquer. Made to order, the lamp requires six weeks of lead time. It's worth the wait.
If you live in a brownout-prone area, or if you're just gearing up for the apocalypse, Energizer's new Light On Demand ($TBA) line will keep your home lit with or without power. The line, which features a desk lamp, nightlights, a cordless motion light, and a cordless wall sconce, is designed to provide normal lighting throughout the day and emergency lighting when the power is off. Each model is powered by a removable LED light stick, which is equipped with internal, rechargeable batteries and can be detached to serve as an area light/flashlight when the power goes out.
Despite all the books on enlightenment, only this one can actually provide light. The Enlightenment Book Lamp ($130) is a book-shaped lamp made from white plexiglass, lit with a 9-watt energy-saving lamp, and with the words "The Enlightenment" on the binding and front cover. Plus, ten percent of the proceeds goes to fund education projects run by the Edukans Foundation. Now that's enlightenment. [via]
One of our favorite lamps is getting a color update. The Amber Block Lamp ($160; May 2008) is a new version of Harri Koskinen's Block Lamp, featuring amber-colored glass that has not been sand-blasted, along with a matching brown textile cord. The lamp gives off ambient light by using a low-wattage bulb encased between two pieces of solid glass, and has been featured in museums worldwide.
Add some flash and color to your next get together with this Multi-color LED Lightbulb w/Remote ($50). Compatible with standard lightbulb sockets, the 5 watt LED bulb is super bright, and with the included remote can be set to any of 16 specific colors, or can be set to transition through them using one of four effects: flash, strobe, fade, or smooth. The remote also lets you turn the LED on and off and adjust the brightness level, so you get just the right amount of the color you want.
Turn any wall in your home into an organic backdrop with the 2nd Shadow Lamp ($170). Designed by Tord Boontje, the lamp features natural images of leaves, vines, and blooms painted on a Mylar interior, which is projected by the interior lamp through stretched gauze filters to create soft, inviting, and intricate patterns on your walls. Available in a subtle cream hue (Morning Garden) or a vibrant green (Spring Garden), it's an easy, stylish way to help decorate your dwelling.
Science meets home decor in the Airswitch 1 Lamp ($85). Designed to look like a laboratory flask, the lamp lets users move their hand over the top to turn the light on and off, and raising or lowering of the hand lets you adjust the brightness, from very dim to mighty bright. In case you forget, the instructions are printed on one side in iconographic form. Air switch, indeed.
Using a Smart Clapper to control your lighting is like using a rock to control your computer. If you want superior control over your lighting, check out the Lutron Maestro IR Dimmer w/Remote ($38). This in-wall wonder lets you customize all sorts of settings, including a delayed fade so you can leave the room before the lights go out, and is compatible with most learning remotes, meaning it'll easily integrate into your home theater setup.
