The best pendant lights to style up your ceiling

Novocastrian’s ‘Daymark’ pendant champions the beauty of metalwork. Made from welded brass or steel with raw seams, the interior of the shade has a delicately etched surface that emphasises the warmth of its golden glow. From £2,656, novocastrian.co

When industrial designer Samuel Wilkinson was approached by Zero Lighting to create ‘a product where the main component, apart from the fixture, could literally be thrown in to nature and decompose naturally’, his curiosity was piqued. ‘I’ve always been interested in this kind of approach,’ he continues, ‘but many natural materials are either difficult to mould or prohibitively expensive.’ That’s where cork came into the equation; a regenerative material sourced from the bark of the cork tree, with a pleasingly granular texture, it proved to be the perfect material to create the ‘Corka’ lampshades. Available in natural, blackened and a mixed-cork finish, this is lighting designed to last a lifetime. £220 each, zerolighting.com.

Lights inspired by our solar system are all the rage at the moment and this limited edition pendant , with its iridescent hand-applied Capiz shell inlay and planetary-esque shape is right on trend. £1362, jadamsandco.com

Cosy winter evenings call for a soft, enveloping glow, such as that emitted by ‘Peel’, the latest trio of table, wall and pendant lamps by Dutch-Danish designer Sissel Gram Warringa. To create each piece, Warringa curled a single sheet of stainless steel into a circular shape, similar to orange peel or a pencil shaving, with a precise slit that disperses the design’s intended glare-free ambient light. From approx £400, frandsen.com

By American lighting company Roll & Hill, this ‘Humboldt’ design is available in two pendant versions and one sconce. Designed to pay tribute to early-20th-century Californian craft, it comes in gemstone colours and rounded forms. There are wooden versions, but we enjoy the colour pop of this ceramic model. £1,800, scp.co.uk

Sometimes, the best creations come from the most simple and innocent of inspirations, as is the case with designer Christian Lava’s latest light for Terzani. Summoning a childhood memory of looking at the sky and imagining shapes in the clouds, the designer recalled witnessing a break in their grey cover that allowed bright rays of sunlight, reminiscent of a harp, to shine through. The ‘Harpe’ pendants are the product of that moment. Made from delicate bars of nickel, they can be assembled in infinite combinations. From approx £375 per pendant, terzani.com

The ‘LightMass’ collection is made up of 3D-printed forms crafted from a translucent mesh that creates dynamic light and shadow patterns. ‘Shades are no longer required to diffuse light,’ say designers Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay, who credit new, higher-quality LEDs and biopolymer filaments with allowing them the ‘artistic freedom to conceive structures that interact with the beam of light in their own way’. They call it ‘the lantern effect’. When switched off, the ‘LightMass’ designs (from £445 for a table lamp) hover like airborne line drawings, but switch them on and the creations gain a haunting luminescence. £890, light-mass.com

Legato is the musical term for a series of smooth notes, as well as the name of this lighting system by Luca Nichetto. Formed of lamps that can be twisted to direct glow in multiple directions, the ‘Legato’ allows you to compose your own symphonies of light. If it’s lighting up the stairway of avant-garde New York gallery the Future Perfect (pictured), you know it’s an icon of tomorrow. ‘Legato String’ with nine cones, £9,099 and ‘Legato String’ with six cones, £6,310 mattermatters.com

The ‘Aria’ ceiling light by Indian brand Stem draws inspiration from the gentle movements of cloth blowing in the wind. The solid-brass rods, cast from hand-sculpted patterns, retain the maker’s touch and bear witness to the beauty of imperfection. The linen fabric shade is hand-embroidered with delicate impressions borrowed from a child’s sketch. £2,585, stemdesign.co

A forerunner in making lighting out of fine-bone china, Oxford-based company Original BTC has used its trademark material to create ‘Blossom’, a pendant with a handmade shade shaped like a plum-blossom flower. From its petal-shaped top, it gently tapers out, casting a circle of light that is ideal for illuminating a kitchen counter, dining table or entry hall. £329, originalbtc.com

For a greener option, let us introduce you to Miniforms’s ‘Rificolona’, which has a shade crafted mainly from recycled polyethene. Finished in an off-white hue, the surface is reminiscent of the moon – a celestial addition to any room. From approx £865, miniforms.com

Designed by Gio Minelli and Marco Fossati, this sleek lamp takes its shape from cymbals, but unlike the noisy percussion piece, this version has impressive sound-absorbing qualities. £954, lampcommerce.com

Like a slinky on a large scale, Normann Copenhagen’s ‘Coil’ pendant lamp is a simple but striking stainless steel form that comes in four sizes to suit different interiors. From £425, normann-copenhagen.com

In Common With collaborated with ceramicist Danny Kaplan on this sharply tapered pendant that will draw the eye wherever it’s placed in a room. It’s finished with solid brass hardware and hung from a rod on a self-levelling canopy. Approx £3,300, incommonwith.com

Named after the iridescent leaves of the Lunaria plant, this beautifully organic Studio Niruk-designed light comes in different sizes that can be arranged in decorative clusters, or hung singly to make a simple statement. Inspired by traditional Japanese paper lamps, it’s made from a delicate fabric that casts a gently diffused light. £487, bolia.com