Photo courtesy Capital City Lighting.

Spotted: Vintage-inspired light fixture from Capital City Lighting

France in the 1940s and ’50s—like any of the world powers of that era—was a country in the throes of recovery. World War II had ravaged the nation’s cities and civilians, with years of rationing, trepidation and destruction living on in the collective psyche long after the smoke of ceasefire drifted away, and even as new technologies and innovations promised a way forward into the future. Artists, especially, paid heed: enter the midcentury modern aesthetic. At the intersection of pre-war art deco’s clean lines and the relaxed, feminine shapes of post-war taste, hardware like this olive green Urban Electric Company “Lundy Hang” light fixture at Capital City Lighting, designed by Martin Brudnizki, takes special inspiration from the French homes of yesteryear—but our mind’s eye sees it just as solidly under contemporary ceilings.

Now please excuse us, 2020, we’re off to a world where Christian Dior’s “New Look” was still new, Chanel cap-toes graced the cobblestones, and Yves Saint Laurent was but a stylish twinkle in our eye. May you feast beneath a light half as bright.

For more information, visit capitalcitylighting.com.