The Boob Job
The flush mount dome ceiling light is sometimes better known as the boob light. You’ve seen it, you probably don’t love it. It’s the cheap, builder-grade solution with glass globes that totally look like tits.
I saw a design opportunity in the boob light – and not just because i have to look at them every day. These fixtures are ubiquitous, widely considered to be unattractive, and unaddressed in the current market.
So I designed a simple retrofit kit that renters could install without tools or wiring
Rendered in Keyshot
About the Kit
This kit is composed of an easy-on bracket, a medallion, and a fixture.
A bayonet style bracket allows for easy off an on with no tools or exposed nipples
The medallion covers the unsightly flange that’s left when the boob light’s globe is removed.
Installation requires no tools, just screwing nuts on a post and plugging in.
Refining the Form
I started with the following criteria:
Maintaining the positive aspects of the boob light (hugging close to the ceiling, even distribution of light, work in a wide variety of residential spaces, relatively intuitive, and simple form)
Little to no lamp image
A distinct point of view with a thoughtful design
Sketching led to the concept of the subtracted globe – that is, a sphere with a cone cut out of it.
Material experimentation led to a double globe form that created a reverent effect, like a pearl in glass. The globe within a globe communicating preciousness, reflecting light around and scattering it with little to no lamp image.
Prototype Production
I created globe positives out of MDF glue-ups halves that I CNC routed and finished by hand. I vacuum formed the globes using those positives and the medallion using spackle-covered foam positives.
I created two versions of the fixture — one with a vacuum formed interior globe, and the other 3D printed out of a translucent PLA filament to explore the light interactions with infill patterns.
