Black & Brass Wall Lights

Black and brass is the pairing people ask for by name: a matt black swan neck arm with a brass bulb holder at the end of it. By day the arm is a silhouette against the wall; switch it on and the brass at the tip catches the filament and becomes the only warm thing in the frame. The metal you notice is a detail, not the whole fitting, which is why this is the most photographed combination in the range.

The wood decides how loud it is. On pale beech the black line is at its sharpest and the brass reads as a point of light. On natural oak the plate warms towards the brass and the whole thing softens. On walnut the black arm goes tonal into the dark timber and the brass is left doing all the work — the quietest version, and the one that suits a room that already has dark wood in it.

It is the combination for a room with black window frames, black taps or a dark kitchen, where an all-brass light would be a third finish and this one ties into two that are already there. Fitted either side of a bed it is the reading-light version of the same idea. All three woods cost the same, and the holder is chosen separately, so if you would rather have copper at the tip that page exists too.