The plainest shape in the range and probably the most useful. A 12 cm drum of travertine, 10 cm deep, held by a short wooden collar under a matching ceiling plate. Nothing to look at from across the room until the light is on, at which point the whole cylinder glows from the inside and the banding in the stone shows through.
A drum this proportioned throws light two ways at once, down through the open base onto whatever is beneath it, and outwards through the stone as a low warm halo. That combination is what makes it work in a room where you want light but not a lit-up room.
Where it earns its place
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Hallways. A pair down a long Victorian hall, evenly spaced, turns the worst-lit part of the house into the calmest.
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Either side of a bed. Small enough to hang close to the wall, and the downward light lands on a book rather than on your face.
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Over a dining table. The 12 cm width keeps the sightline across the table open even when it is hung low.
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Walnut or oak. Collar and ceiling plate change together, so the choice reads as one decision. Walnut to sit with darker joinery, oak to keep the whole thing pale.
Real stone, so no two are the same
Backlit travertine is where the material makes its case. Once the bulb is on you can see straight into the banding, which means the piece you receive will glow differently from the one in the photographs. The macro image shows the pores at full size.
Hanging it
Cable is 180 cm and gets cut to your drop on the day. In a hallway, keep the bottom of the shade at least 2.1 m off the floor so nobody meets it head on. Over a table, 75 to 80 cm from the top of the table is the usual answer. The 10 cm ceiling plate covers a standard rose. Warm white E27 LED bulb included, and because the stone glows you will see the difference between this bulb and a cold one immediately. Not dimmable, and it wants a qualified electrician.