Lighting Dilemma and Arco Lamps

I have been trying to solve a lighting dilemma in my living room. There is no over head, hard wired lighting and the two lamps are just not cutting it. On one of those rainy summer days last week, I was thumbing through my old Domino magazines and came across this image... EUREKA! An Arco lamp!

Image via Domino.

The Arco lamp is one of those classic designs where form and function meet and live happily ever after. Designed in 1962 by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, it is so practical and functional — It's a floor lamp and an overhead light! The Castiglionis' functionalism makes this design complex in its simplicity. (Whoa...That was pretty profound, huh?!)

Image via Apartment Therapy.

Image via Houzz.

Achille Castiglioni in his Milan studio in the late '60s, reading under the Arco lamp he designed with his brother.

Image via Apartment Therapy.

Image via Cote Maison.

Image via Houzz.

Image via Houzz.

Image via London Homes.

I know that I'll never be able to afford a real Arco but there are some great copies out there... What do you think of these lamps? Are they over used and and cliche or do you think they are timeless classics?

P.S. Project Runway starts tonight at 9:00, so excited!