Fka Themis

Self-taught designer Bec Brittain grew up surrounded by creative minds: Her mother is an artist, her father had a woodworking business, and her paternal grandparents and step-grandfather were architects.

In 2011, after serving as a design director for Lindsey Adelman, Brittain founded her own studio in Brooklyn and created the SHY light. The piece, whose name derives from the initials of her architect grandmother, Sarah Hitchcock Yerkes, was an immediate success, launching Brittain’s career.

The designer moved her studio to Manhattan in 2016 and opened an adjacent showroom in 2017.

Brittain makes all her products in New York with the help of local artisans and fabricators. A project called Aries, which was presented by 1stDibs in a 2018 exhibition during the Salone del Mobile in Milan, is an ode to Olafur Eliasson’s set design for the ballet Tree of Codes.

Find Bec Brittain chandeliers, wall lights, table lamps and other furnishings on 1stDibs.

From the kitchen to the bedroom and everywhere in between, there is one major part of home decor that you definitely want to master: lighting. Carefully selected vintage sconces and wall lights can do wonders in establishing mood and highlighting your distinctive personality.

We’re a long way from the candelabra-inspired chandeliers of the medieval era. Lighting is no longer merely practical, and lighting designers have been creating and reinventing lighting solutions for eons. Because of the advancements crafted by these venturesome makers, we now have the opportunity to bring unique, customizable lighting solutions into our homes.

It’s never been easier to create dramatic bedrooms, cozy kitchen areas and cheerful bars than it is today. Think of an elegant wall sconce as functional and as a work of art, adding both light and style to your hallways, whimsical kids’ rooms and elsewhere.

When choosing a lighting solution, first determine what your needs are: Will you opt for a moody or a bright feel? The room that will serve as your home office will need adequate lighting — think “the brighter, the better” for this particular setting.

For the bedroom, bedside wall lamps with warm-temperature bulbs instead of bedside table lamps could be the way to go to induce a sense of calm or intimacy. Try to match the style of the wall light or sconce that you’re installing to the overall design scheme of your room. It’s never “just a light.” You should approach the lighting of a room with a mindset that is one part practical and one part aesthetics-driven.

Let 1stDibs help you set the mood with the right antique and vintage wall lights and sconces for your home. Our collection includes every kind of fixture, from sculptural works by Austrian craftsman J.T. Kalmar to chic industrial-style wall sconces, from adjustable painted aluminum wall lamps designed by Artemide to a wide variety of minimalist mid-century modern masterpieces.