It’s a nearly three-hour drive for me to an Ikea, and I made a rare trip recently to buy a carload full of Trofast shelving for another work-area project in my office. Plus, I thought I’d scope out Ikea. Of course, it was all great fun! There was lots to love — but hands-down, the product that stood out the most during my entire visit: The Ikea PS 2014 pendant light. This. Light. Is. Awesome. I was really blown away. This story is a love letter to the Ikea PS 2014 pendant light — with lots of dreamy glowy photos provided by the company. And, come back tomorrow — because Ikea also provided a light for a giveaway.
Pictures tell the story pretty well, so to start, lookie…
Honestly, these gorgeous photos from Ikea don’t even capture how beautiful this light is in person. And it’s relatively big — 14″ in diameter closed, even bigger when opened – so quite a statement …. And — it’s relatively inexpensive! That’s a potent combination, for sure. I know this is a retro blog, and I don’t think it’s correct to call this a retro light. But hey, “science fiction movies” maybe gets you into that territory. Plus, it reminds me of something that Buckminster Fuller would have designed — geodesic dome-ish.
It seems like the “signature” color of this pendant light is orange. Designer David Wahl explained:
“When the lamp is closed it resembles a ball of fire, with the color of the arms creating an exciting light.”
His full statement of intent, which also explains how you can control the light emitted by opening and closing the plastic arms:
Designer thoughts
“The idea behind IKEA PS 2014 pendant lamp is to be able to dim the light manually by changing the shape of the shade. When the lamp is closed it resembles a ball of fire, with the color of the arms creating an exciting light. When you pull the string the lamp opens up and releases all the light. My inspiration came from science fiction movies and video games, which I like a lot. And even if the lamp stands out visually, it doesn’t take much room – perfect for anyone who lives in a small space.”
Designer David Wahl
Note, while the whole thing is plastic, I didn’t think it looked “cheap” at all — it looked great.
The light also now comes in other colors, and they are nice enough. But I’d go for the orange — they had me at “the ball of fire within”.
Remember this cute little Ikea dining room we mocked up last year?
Admission: I didn’t buy one, because I am really trying to stop buying things I have no place for and because I already have a vintage lighting store in my attic, BUT, golly, I really think this light will become a 21st century classic. If I had a spot for it, I’d be all over it!
Ikea PS 2014 Pendant lamps:
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ineffablespace says
I am always a bit concerned about the time-capsule potential of plastics and other petrochemicals. While plastics don’t biodegrade, on the other hand they do deteriorate and get brittle or discolored. Especially when exposed to heat and light as in lightbulbs. Many of the early Nelson pendants are tan and brittle –and my early womb chairs are filled with rock hard lumps of foam.
Everything wears and ages but some modernist materials age in ways that affect the integrity of the piece so they are more ephemeral than traditional pieces in traditional materials.
pam kueber says
Yes. Good thought.
Steve H says
I’m in the process of replacing all of the bulbs in my vintage lamps with LED bulbs. They create far less heat and, as I understand, less UV radiation, so it should be much better for the plastic in the long run. The new LEDs produce a nice warm light that is really indistinguishable from incandescent bulbs.
ElectraChime says
I think it is kind of retro. My initial reaction was how much it looks like the 1962 Telstar satellite, especially in the closed position.
http://www.fotolibra.com/gallery/49423/telstar-satellite-illustration/
I may just have to go out and buy one even it I have to find a place for it!
Karin says
This is so great! I’ve seen it in several design magazine shoots and didn’t know it was Ikea!
Another great Ikea lamp with a midcentury vibe is the Stockholm chandelier, which I was considering for my kitchen when I was looking at sputnik style pendants.
I was shocked at the high prices of other online sputniks. The Ikea Stockholm was sort of cool, but I held off because its oval shape, while elegant, didn’t really read as a sputnik. However, to my delight and amazement, I found out online that people have been hacking the lamp’s assembly by randomly inserting the starbursts instead of following the set pattern–resulting in a round sputnik. Genius! I thought I’d pass that along.
Sam R says
http://www.ikeahackers.net/2013/10/ikea-stockholm-chandelier-hack.html
Onawa says
A 90 minute trip for us…but we have made several and have at least one thing from ikea in most of our rooms. It has a nice, clean modern look but it usually very functional and while inexpensive, is better quality than the target/walmart offerings.
Birgitta says
In the 1970’s as a young teen my parents told me that I could redecorate my room. Green shag carpeting, orange walls and a yellow bean bag chair. From IKEA I got a yellow plastic light that hung from the ceiling and white modern looking furniture. We ordered it from Sweden and had it shipped. It was actually cheaper than buying furniture in the US. The yellow plastic lamp eventually fell apart but the white wood furniture is still in great shape and we still use it.
Sandy says
Another winner from IKEA. I am a staunch supporter and we have bought several mid-century styled items from them over the years. This lamp is particularly interesting.
MK says
We have this light in our kitchen over the table. It looks great, but the bulb IKEA says is the max is quite dim. That’s really the only drawback. People always comment on the light and my husband loves showing off the death star feature.
Bobby Edgar says
Nice! Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Tikimama says
The Exploding Death Star Light! That’s what I first called it when we saw it in the store a year + ago. I suggested it for the mock-up photo you posted above, too. This light came out long before the current Star Wars inundation, but I bet it’ll get a few more fans just because of it. We have it in our den, and while the light isn’t really bright, it is so cooooool! I’ll attempt to get a good photo. My younger daughter loves to pull on the adjusting cords, but I discourage that because I’m afraid it might get stuck. And another thing – I remember it was a bit of a mind-tickler to figure out how to put the pieces together (they don’t just come that way out of the box, y’know!)
G S says
My DH also said “Death Star!” when I showed it to him. We have Ikea pretty closeby, so I may check it out in person. We have a hook to hang it in the LR.