Industrial style lighting from William & Watson

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, it’s unlikely you’ve not been aware of the industrial trend taking over our lives. Ok, I am possibly exaggerating a tad, I am from Marseille, we like to make big statements in the south. But you know what I mean. Once a popular aesthetic reserved to the worlds of hip bars and retail commercial spaces, the industrial influence is now more than prevalent in our own homes. Ah the too-cool-for-school ‘warehouse look’… you can totally picture it if you close your eyes and mentally visualise that incredible loft conversion where Dan Humphrey’s family lived in Gossip Girl (am I allowed such a reference being over 30, you may wonder? I am quite tragic… Let’s just embrace it).

I just love those raw features that can mentally transport you from your traditional London Victorian House straight to a converted factory slash loft appartement in Brooklyn (well, technically the Humphreys live in Dumbo in the series but that’s another story) with ridiculously high ceilings, exposed bricks, pipes and ducts, original oversized factory doors, powder-coated steel and reclaimed wooden furniture, and of course, those Edison-style filament light-bulbs in exposed wire shades…

Despite what some might say, the industrial influence is still fashionable and my favourite part of that trend is definitely lighting. Not everyone owns a loft in NYC, I am well aware of that. That doesn’t mean you can’t embrace the industrial trend. The secret is to avoid recreating the full warehouse/industrial look in your own home, but instead borrow a few keys influences or pieces and mix it up a bit. Industrial lighting doesn’t just mean cold, modern, utilitarian look anymore. It can be cosy and warm if blended in more traditional schemes. And you know we like to be eclectic at Stella + the Stars HQ…

So, I’d like to introduce you to William & Watson – a fairly new design business set up just over a year ago by a fellow French lady based in London and her two business partners. Their team shared great love for functional, engineering industrial design, and decided to create a company that followed their style ethos while creating products that are not only functional but also good looking. Oh, and environment friendly too (they developed their own range of stylish LED light bulbs, which look as good as old-fashioned bulbs, just less ‘energy guzzling’).

And the good news is, William & Watson are offering Stella + the Stars reader a 15% discount on their entire collection. All you need to do is visit www.williamandwatson.com or click on the big black button below, find your dream lighting and enter the promotion code “LOVELED” at the checkout. Offer valid until 15 October 2015.

The collection includes vintage filament lighting bulbs, industrial pipe desk lamps, copper ceiling roses with a range of multicoloured cables, pendant cage lights… And all the accessories needed to get those little lighting puppies set up. You’ll also find below is a little selection of my favourite pieces from their collection, you know, just in case you need a little bit of inspiration.