LIGHTING
Poul Henningsen spent his career on a single problem: how to light a room well without letting anyone see the bulb. His answer was a set of nested shades, each one calculated to catch the light and pass it downward, so the eye meets only glow. Louis Poulsen dates the System PH to 1926, and the first multi-shade lamp the two built together had won gold at the Paris exhibition the year before. Every PH lamp since, from the PH 5 to the newest portables, runs on that same geometry.
This autumn, one hundred years on, Louis Poulsen is marking the anniversary in two ways. The first is colour: the PH 2/1 and PH 3/2 table lamps now come in four glossy finishes. The second is the next chapter of the PH Centenary Collection, two amber glass editions that reach back to the material palette of the earliest lamps. Both are new for autumn 2026.
Glossy Colour on Two Classic Table Lamps
The new finishes are Glossy Beige, Glossy Burgundy, Glossy Deep Blue and Glossy Deep Green, and the colour sits exactly where it should. The shades remain mouth-blown three-layer opal glass, sandblasted on the inner side, so the light itself is unchanged. What changes is the metalwork: the top plate, stem and base are now coloured aluminium with a high-gloss surface. Louis Poulsen matched the cords too. Glossy Beige ships with a white cord, and the three darker finishes with black.
The numbers in a PH name are shade sizes, and that is the practical difference between the two lamps. The PH 2/1 Table Lamp pairs a roughly 20 cm top shade with the smaller lower shades of the 1/1, stands 14" tall, and is the one for a windowsill, a shelf, or a desk that also holds a monitor. The PH 3/2 Glass Table Lamp steps up to a 30 cm top shade and 18.6" of height, enough presence to anchor a sideboard or a bedside table on its own. Both switch on the stem.
The finish most likely to surprise is Glossy Deep Green. On a dark counter or a walnut sideboard it reads as near-black until the lamp comes on, and then the gloss picks up the glow from the opal shades. Burgundy is the most autumnal, and Deep Blue is the pick for a room that is already mostly white.
The Centenary Editions: Amber Glass and Aged Brass
The PH Centenary Collection marks one hundred years of the System PH, and it is built in the materials of the early lamps: mouth-blown amber glass and brass that has been aged and lacquered to hold its patina. The first releases arrived in spring, the PH 3/2 Table Lamp Centenary Edition and the PH 3½-2½ Floor Lamp Centenary Edition, and this autumn the collection grows by two.
The PH 3/3 Pendant Centenary Edition hangs a four-layered, mouth-blown amber upper shade with a white inner side over lower shades of white opal glass. The amber warms everything around it while the white inner layer keeps the downward light clean, which is why it belongs over a dining table: faces stay clearly lit while the room beyond the table softens. Each lamp is engraved with its own ID number on the shade holder.
The PH 2/2 Wall Lamp Centenary Edition is the one I would send to the bedroom. It puts the same amber-over-opal shades on a curved arm of aged brass, brushed with fine hairlines, and it comes in two versions, with or without a switch on the wall box. Mounted at bedside height it drops reading light onto the page and spares the person on the other side of the bed, which is exactly the glare control the shade system was calculated for. It installs wired, in a fixed position, so plan its placement with the same care you would give a sconce in a hallway.
The spring releases also included the PH 1/1 Portable, the cordless entry into the collection, if you want the amber glass without committing to an electrician.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the new Louis Poulsen glossy colours?
Glossy Beige, Glossy Burgundy, Glossy Deep Blue and Glossy Deep Green, available on the PH 2/1 Table Lamp and the PH 3/2 Glass Table Lamp. The colour is applied to the aluminium top plate, stem and base. The mouth-blown opal glass shades are unchanged, and the cord is colour-matched: white with Beige, black with the darker three.
What does the PH Centenary Collection celebrate?
One hundred years of the System PH, the reflective three-shade system Louis Poulsen dates to 1926. The Centenary editions revisit the early material palette: mouth-blown amber glass upper shades with white inner sides, white opal lower shades, and aged, lacquered brass. Each piece carries an engraved ID number.
Can the PH 2/2 Wall Lamp work as a bedside light?
Yes, it is one of the best uses for it. The shade system directs light downward for reading without glare at eye level. It is a wired fixture supplied without a cord, sits in a fixed position, and comes with or without a switch on the wall box. Choose the switch version if the wall box will be within reach of the bed.
Do the new colours change the quality of the light?
No. On both glossy table lamps the shades are still three-layer white opal glass, glossy outside and sandblasted inside, so the light distribution is identical to the classic metallised versions. The PH 2/1 takes a G9 LED bulb and the PH 3/2 takes an E12 bulb up to 40W; bulbs are not included.
A century in, the System PH is still doing what it was calculated to do, and the autumn releases show both directions the family can stretch: forward into colour on the glossy table lamps, and back toward amber glass and brass in the Centenary editions. Whichever way you lean, the shades underneath are running the same hundred-year-old geometry.
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