An organic modern living room rests on natural materials and soft forms. A travertine table lamp answers that brief closely. The stone is warm and porous, and its light stays low. Place one on a console, a sideboard or a side table, near wood, linen or plaster, and let texture do the work.
What makes a living room organic modern?
The term usually describes a modern room softened by natural materials. The lines stay clean. The palette stays close to the colors of wood, stone, clay and undyed cloth. Curves appear in a sofa, a table edge or a lamp base. Objects are few, and each one is chosen for its material.
What separates it from a plain minimal room is texture. A boucle armchair, a linen throw, an oak sideboard, a plaster wall: each surface gives the eye something to read, even in a room with almost no color. Light matters here more than usual. A ceiling light flattens texture. A lamp at table height, with a warm and contained glow, brings it back.
Why travertine suits the style
Travertine is a limestone formed by deposits from mineral springs. As it forms, it keeps small cavities, which is why its surface is pitted. On our lamps, the pores are left open, as they come. The tone also shifts from one area of the stone to the next, so no two bases are the same.
That is close to everything an organic modern room asks of an object: a natural material, with texture and a quiet color. Travertine reads as warm without being colorful. It sits easily next to oak and walnut, and against off-white plaster. In our travertine table lamps, the stone is paired either with a fabric shade in the same tone or with a dome of dark bronze.
Where should a travertine lamp go in the living room?
On a sideboard, under a painting
A sideboard with art above it is the classic place for a taller lamp. Sillon, at 18.9 inches with a 13.8-inch bronze dome, holds its own there. Its light falls under the shade and across the stone. It gives presence and mood, not reading light.
On a console behind the sofa
A console table behind a sofa or along a wall is seen from across the room. Tellur, 12.6 inches tall, is one color from base to top: taupe travertine below, a woven fabric drum in the same tone above. With a single color, texture does all the work.
On a low table, far from an outlet
Coffee tables and side tables in the middle of a room rarely have an outlet nearby. Silex is cordless and rechargeable. A full charge gives about 12 hours of light, and there is no cable to hide while it is lit. Sillon and Tellur are plug-in lamps: give them a fixed place near an outlet.
What to pair with travertine
- Wood. Oak and walnut bring out the warm side of the stone. Many of our living room photos are taken on one or the other.
- Cloth. Linen, boucle and corduroy repeat the texture of the pores at a softer scale.
- Dark metal. A bronze shade gives the pale stone a contrast without adding color. We look at this pairing in travertine and bronze in warm interiors.
- Other stone, in moderation. Travertine on a terrazzo or travertine console works when the shapes differ. A common rule of thumb is to keep one strong stone piece per surface, so each one can be read.
Keep the rest of the surface simple. A book, a bowl, a branch in a vase. The lamp is the object; the others are there to give it scale.
From the collection
- Tellur: taupe travertine base and matching woven fabric drum, 12.6 inches tall, plug-in.
- Silex: light beige travertine under a matte dark bronze dome, cordless, 11.8 inches tall.
- Sillon: beige travertine and a dark bronze dome, joined by a groove in the stone, 18.9 inches tall.
Questions
Is travertine too rustic for a modern living room?
Not when the shape is simple. Travertine looks rustic in rough blocks. Cut into a tapered base or a clean cone, it reads as modern. Its pores and shifts of tone add the texture an organic modern room needs. Keep the lines of the lamp plain, and let the stone carry the detail.
Can I put a travertine lamp on a coffee table?
Yes, if it has no cord to trail across the floor. Silex is cordless: about 12 hours of light per charge, and about 6 hours to recharge. Our other travertine lamps, Tellur and Sillon, plug in. They are meant for a fixed place near an outlet, such as a console or a sideboard.
How do I care for a travertine lamp base?
Dust the stone with a soft, dry brush or cloth. Travertine is porous, so wipe spills quickly before they settle into the pores. Avoid acidic cleaners: like marble, travertine is a calcareous stone, and acids can mark its surface. The pits and shifts of tone are part of the stone, not flaws.
Each lamp is shown lit and unlit, in real rooms. Explore the travertine table lamps.