Objects

Single things worth thinking about — lighting, furniture, ceramics — and what your money actually buys at each level.

The sweeping steel arc of an Arco-style floor lamp rising from a pale marble base, lit in warm tones.

See · £2,200 original · £180 alternative

Object study: the Arco lamp, fifty years on

Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni solved a specific problem in 1962 — and produced a lamp that still costs more than most people's first car. Whether that matters is the interesting question.

An open plan dining room furnished with six Eames DSW chairs around a wooden dining table.

Decide · £119–£4,425

Eames DSW: Vitra original, licensed replica, or inspired alternative

The Eames plastic side chair was built to be cheap. So why does the licensed version cost £450 — and is a replica a betrayal of the design or its truest expression?

A selection of considered floor lamps photographed against a warm dark interior.

Decide · £59–£400

The best floor lamps under £400: ten options that earn their place

Most floor lamps are filler. Good ones do something specific: anchor a corner, layer warmth over a ceiling light, or quietly invoke a design tradition without requiring a second mortgage. Ten options, honestly tiered.