Hip Lighting With Traditional Glow

Los Angeles interior designer Brian Bell started designing lighting when he couldn’t find what he wanted for clients. “You think everything is out there, particularly with the resources we have, but it isn’t, “ he said. “And lighting was a passion with me.”

So he created a small line of floor, table and desk lamps that he describes as “contemporary lighting with a traditional feel,” combining hand-cast linear bronze or nickel stems and bases with linen shades. The result is a clean, functional look, which Bell wanted.

“I didn’t want it to look like reproductions of modern pieces,” said the designer, whose studio is located in the Silver Lake area. He studied industrial design at the Art Center College of Design and did industrial product design before going on his own.

For his lamps, Bell uses mostly metals and metal finishes because the look of polished brass reminds him of the mid-century. And the lampshades, too, have a mid-century look. “Most contemporary lighting has done away with shades, but I like them. That’s what allows the lamp to mix in a more traditional environment. The really hyper-Italian contemporary stuff just makes too much of a statement to mix.”

The fledgling line was launched with six models two years ago. It includes a table lamp with a bulb-shaped base with reflective platinum glaze and an urn-shaped lamp in oak or ebony.

At Downtown on La Cienega in West Hollywood, which carries Bell’s line, co-owner Paul Marra is pleased. “Since we opened the door two years ago, we have carried his line and we’ve done well with it. His lamps are functional and clean.”

The best seller, said Marra, is the Braque desk lamp with a polished nickel base and white linen shade. “It also comes in a table [size] and a floor lamp and it’s very ‘go away,’ as we like to say. That means it’s not like some fussy piece of furniture trying to disguise itself as a lamp. This lamp is so simple it could be mixed with any style of furniture.”

That is Bell’s aim. “I wanted to create lamps that have a presence but don’t scream at you,” he said.

A few of his pieces are more decorative, including an ebony-finish floor lamp with four legs. Bell says he intends to add to the line, but won’t expand into furniture. “I’ll stick to lighting for now. This is just right.”