See the Best Lighting from Our 2024 Design Awards

You could have the most magazine-worthy, beautifully designed space, but it’s all for nothing if the lighting falls flat. Lucky for you, Apartment Therapy just launched the first-ever Small/Cool Design Awards to highlight the very best products on our editors’ radars, across six categories — furniture, decor, kitchen & bath, textiles, finishes, and (last but not least) lighting.

If you’re stumped on where to start in terms of brightening your space, check out the best light fixtures — including portable lamps, wall-mounted picture lights, and more — that have earned the official Apartment Therapy stamp of approval.

Table of Contents

1. Best Lighting at a Glance

2. What Makes Up This Category of Winners

3. Lighting Winners

4. How We Picked Our Winners

5. 2024 Small/Cool Design Awards

Best Lighting

• Renter-Friendly: Tulip Gem Natural Cover

• Ceiling Fan: Dreo Smart Ceiling Fan CLF712S

• Picture Light: Pooky Smaller Blake Picture Light

• Floor Lamp: Urban Outfitters Sanna Side Table Floor Lamp

• Stackable: Nella Lighting Cici Lamp 6″ Stack

• Portable: Humber Portable Tall Close Top Glass Mushroom Lamp

• Double-Duty: IKEA VARMBLIXT LED Table/Wall Lamp

What Makes Up This Category of Winners

In this lighting category, you’ll find everything from stylish ceiling fans (yes, those do exist) to functional two-in-one designs to just plain cool table lamps. Consider these the best ways to brighten any space — especially rentals.

Small Cool 2024 - Lighting

1. Tulip Gem Natural Cover

   Tulip Home

   $145

   Your boob light has met its match: You can install the Tulip Gem lamp shade on your ceiling in minutes (no tools needed!) to disguise any renter-grade eyesore fixtures. The geometric styles add a decorative touch and cozy ambience to any room, with your choice of silhouette, color, or pattern.

   Buy Now

2. Dreo Smart Ceiling Fan

   Dreo

   $199

   This super-cool (pun intendended) smart ceiling fan can change brightness, warmth, color, and speed, and it connects to your smartphone, so you can set it for sleeping, reading, working, and more. Its design is sleek, too, so it'll look stylish overhead.

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3. Pooky Smaller Blake Picture Light

   Pooky

   $125

   U.K.-based lighting brand Pooky just launched a U.S. collection this year, which includes the beautifully curved Blake picture light. Choose from three sizes and finishes to accent your favorite wall art in museum-worthy style — you just need 4.75 inches of wall space, minimum.

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4. Urban Outfitters Sanna Side Table Floor Lamp

   Urban Outfitters

   $399

   This double-duty Urban Outfitters design combines a floor lamp and side table into one modern piece. Play up vertical space in style with the pleated lamp shade, curved arm, and spacious round tripod table. Think beyond just the living room, too — it’d make the perfect nightstand.

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5. Nella Lighting Cici Lamp

   Nella

   $148

   Woman-owned small business Nella Lighting essentially lets you customize your own table lamp: the 6-inch Cici design comes with a pleated shade and two interchangeable 4.5-inch cylindrical bases, which you can stack and eventually expand on with additional solid-colored pieces.

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6. Humber Glass Mushroom Lamp

   Humber

   $76

   Elevate your everyday ambient lighting with Humber's 6-inch-tall, vintage-inspired glass mushroom lamp. The multi-colored, kaleidoscopic design is battery-operated, so you can transport it wherever you need mood lighting on demand — from a cozy reading corner to a dinner party table centerpiece.

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7. IKEA VARMBLIXT LED Table/Wall Lamp

   IKEA

   $69.99

   It's no surprise that IKEA's iconic VARMBLIXT "donut lamp" made the cut. Created in collaboration with designer Sabine Marcelis, this glossy glass accent can mount flush on the wall or lie flat as a table lamp. Either way, you get the ultimate (functional) conversation starter.

   Buy Now

How We Picked Our Winners

Of course, there’s so much good design out there, so to compile this list of bests, we first consulted our editorial and commerce teams for the need-to-know products on their radars, plus reviewed a handful of reader-favorite bestsellers. We also welcomed submissions from some of our go-to brands, but to be considered for inclusion, all products must have been released within the past three years and cost under $1,000 (with the exception of sofas).

We tapped a team of in-the-know panelists to share their own design-forward faves as well: Ellen Van Dusen, founder of colorful textile brand Dusen Dusen; Sebastian Brauer, senior vice president of product design at Crate & Barrel and Crate & Kids; Priya Vij, founder of cabinet hardware company Hapny Home; Sarah Sherman Samuel, interior and furniture designer; DuVäl, interior designer and Small/Cool pop-up alum; Deirdre Maloney and Minya Quirk, co-founders of online shopping platform Afternoon Light and two of Apartment Therapy’s 2024 Design Changemakers; and Jeremiah Brent, interior designer and Queer Eye star.

2024 Small/Cool Design Awards

Want to see more winners? See here for the full list of winners for the 2024 Small/Cool Design Awards.

All prices were accurate at the time of publishing, but may have changed since then.

Further Reading

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