Nothing sets off smart work areas like ultra stylish desk lamps, and choosing an office piece that is both useful and attractive deserves some careful consideration. Here are some of our favorites to get you started: The Tolomeo Desk Lamp is a modern icon of Italian design, created by Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina in 1986 for the Artemide company, which went on to win the Compasso d'Oro design prize in 1989. During the dot-com boom, the lamp gained popularity as a status symbol in high design and high-tech companies such as architectural and graphic design studios.

Another widely recognized silhouette is the popular Anglepoise lamp, designed in 1932 by British designer George Carwardine, and made even more famous by the adorably animated Pixar intro featuring a playful lamp bouncing its way into the logo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTjjXQLWe6E The industrial looking Lampe Gras Desk Lamp is a firm favorite of architect Le Corbusier. This set of desk top beauties have all been designed by the highly creative Timo Niskanen, displaying a bevy of unexpected forms like a loop-de-loop, a set of suspended 'his and hers' figurines, a skewered branch, and space age pod-like forms. The curvaceous Ruspa Table Lamp was designed by Gae Aulenti in 1967 for Martinelli Luce, Italy. The terrifically twisted aluminum blades of the LED Leaf light allows you to select warm or cool white light, and level of illumination, with a quick touch or slide of your finger, and an integrated microprocessor will remember your settings the next time the light is switched on. The Tunto LED 8 PowerKiss table lamp with wire-free charging station is a neat way to power up your cell phone, though do bare in mind this is not part of the new wave of inductive wireless chargers, this piece requires that your device be physically plugged in to the charger ring on the base. Looking like a cross between the Starship Enterprise and a system of pendulums, this elegant piece was designed at San Francisco based Virtual Studio, founded by Peter Stathis. The low level Hanoi lamp, designed by Argentina based Federico Churba, has a modern oriental feel to it. Another chic creation by Federico Churba is the Zeta lamp, which appears almost as a piece of origami. Recommended Reading: 30 Industrial Style Lighting Fixtures 50 Uniquely Beautiful Designer Table Lamps You Can Buy Right Now 50 Unique Kids' Night Lights