Free delivery for a limited time

Mid-Century & Retro Lamps

Mushroom domes, flowerpot curves and space-age shapes from the 1960s and 70s, reimagined as everyday lamps.
About our Mid-Century & Retro Lamps

Mid-Century Modern and Retro Table Lamps

Mid-century modern design, from roughly the late 1940s to the early 1970s, turned the lamp into a piece of sculpture. Italian and Danish designers used new materials such as moulded plastic, chrome and hand-blown glass to create mushroom domes, flowerpot curves and space-age globes in bold colours. Our mid-century lamps and retro table lamps bring those shapes back as new, everyday lamps. They're Lamp Boy's own designs and aren't made by or affiliated with the original designers or manufacturers.

Mushroom and Flowerpot Shapes

Glass, Chrome and Space-Age Designs

How to Style Mid-Century Lamps

  • Pair them with warm timber, such as walnut or teak sideboards and bedside tables, and textures like boucle, rattan and wool.
  • Use colour as the accent: a single orange, mustard or red lamp is enough to give a neutral room a retro feel.
  • Try a matching pair on a sideboard or either side of a bed for the symmetry that defined the era.
  • Mix old and new: one strong retro shape sits comfortably in an otherwise modern room.

For more ideas, read How to Style Your Space with Mid Century Lamps and Flowerpot Lamps: Why They're So Popular.

Mid-Century and Retro Lamp FAQs

What's the difference between mid-century and retro? Mid-century modern describes design from about the 1940s to the early 1970s. Retro is broader and covers anything that looks back to past decades, including the bold colours and space-age shapes of the 60s and 70s.

Are these vintage lamps? No. They're new lamps with modern 100 to 240V wiring that take LED bulbs or have built-in LEDs, so there's no rewiring or hunting for old bulbs.

Which colours are most mid-century? Orange, mustard, red, forest green and cream are the classics. Browse our orange lamps, red lamps, green lamps and pink lamps.

Are any of them cordless? Yes. The Tapa, Estada and Piccola are rechargeable, so you can move them from the sideboard to the dining table or bedside.

Love the dome shape? See all our mushroom lamps and read Mushroom Lamps: Why This Retro Shape Works So Well.