Dezeen Magazine

Shelves slide up and down the stem of Yu Ito's Impila lamp

Japanese designer Yu Ito has designed a floor lamp for Italian furniture brand Formabilio with lipped tray-like shelves that move up and down its neck and stack inside the base.

Impila floor lamp by Yu Ito

The form of the painted yellow ash base of the Impila light is echoed as a grey and a white disc, which can either stack inside the base or be moved up the solid-ash neck of the lamp to function as shelves.

Impila floor lamp by Yu Ito

The conical lampshade has a cotton exterior and a mirrored polyvinyl chloride (PVC) interior to reflect light down onto the shelves below.

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"I am very interested in ideas about how different objects should be used," Ito told Dezeen. "In many cases, a side table becomes a place for things like a vase, magazines, or lamps to stay, while those things do not stay on trays – trays and the objects placed on them are usually put away after each use."

"I believe that the Impila floor lamp maintains the temporal nature of conventional trays while also being functional and practical as a side table," Ito added.

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The lamp is made from lathe-turned solid ash and is hand-finished with natural oil.

"Impila is a surprising floor lamp," said the designer. "It works next to the sofa when you are watching TV when you need somewhere to put your popcorn, in the sitting room when you have guests and need more space, in the bedroom as an innovative bedside table with integrated lamp."

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Concept sketch

Yu Ito was born in Tokyo, studied at Rhode Island Industrial School of Design and now works as a furniture and product designer in America, Spain, and Japan.