
Apparently,
last year's owl trend hasn't yet died down, because the
Marie Christophe Hibou Lamp (inquire for price) is looking as of-the-moment as ever. I am utterly rapt by it. I was
recently craving another Christophe fixture; I guess her glorious beaded creations haven't lost their appeal to me.

When I was swinging through the San Francisco
Anthropologie store recently, I was stopped in my tracks by these metal pendant lamps.
We all know that objects make a bigger impression when they're arranged in multiples (and three is really a magic number when it comes to arranging), but the multiple lamps weren't what wowed me. It's the impressive embroidery on the metal shades!

Target recently sent me the
Thomas O'Brien Small Crackle Glass Lamp ($29.99), which is part of O'Brien's "Vintage Modern" line for Target's 2008 Fall Home Collection. When it comes to luminaries, I don't take things lightly. I have a mild obsession with light fixtures, and I like to have an eclectic mix of lamps, sconces, pendants, chandeliers, and candles in my home.

Bruno Rainaldi must have taken a note from the
Talking Heads' catchphrase "This ain't no disco" when designing the
Orten'zia Large Floor Lamp ($4,628). The luminary certainly has a disco ball aura to it, but its nickel-plated petals give it a unique flair that's light years away from the glowing dance floor of the Saturday Night Fever set. Unfortunately, with that price tag, it's also astronomically distant from my living room.

I tend to gravitate toward more modern pieces that are a departure from nature and the outdoors; you won't find any taxidermy in my house. So, I wondered if there was a way to balance the two without sacrificing my aesthetic. There is, and
Martha Stewart has found it.