May is here. Everything's in bloom. It's a wonderful time of year, with a great surge of life moving through the earth and summer so close you can almost taste it. Spring's flowers have all come pushing up and flowering trees' buds burst forth in audacious colors, brilliantly blossoming before falling to the ground in a carpet of petals. 

Why wait until May for nature to bring flowers back around when we can have them in the form of amazing chandeliers, flush mounts, and sconces the whole year through? There's nothing like the real thing, but the real thing is fleeting. With heirloom-worthy fixtures, the beauty of flowers and nature is captured in art's permanence, as in a stirring still life hanging in a museum. 

Design: Diana Weinstein | Photo: Jane Beiles | Light: Lily pendants by Corbett Lighting

As we all know, the best way to freshen up a space is also a really old-fashioned way, and sometimes even free: Put some fresh flowers in there.

Any kind of plant or object from the outdoors adds color and a revitalizing element. This is especially easy in the kitchen, where herbs, fruits, and vegetables soon to be eaten offer accents of color and nature.

In this kitchen, all of these things are in play. Complementing the natural elements, our Lily pendants add floral elegance and handcrafted artistry all year long while serving as task lighting over the island. This combination of nature-inspired decorative items with actual nature in the same space has endless elegance, as well as a calming effect on the room's inhabitants.

Corbett has a history of exquisite artistry. A lot of hands are involved in the making of each piece. One of the things we love to do is use old European methods of crafting glass. That tradition continues with our new Jasmine family. 

An elegant branch of metal reaches down, stemming out to support exquisite handcrafted flowers of glass, alternately translucent and frosted. Bulbs hide behind this vine in the sconces and flush mount version, shining through the glass in stunning ways. In its pendant form, this branch is suspended upside-down through a ring, lined with LED illumination along its interior. Old-world artistry and clean-lined modernism combine, in silver or gold leaf finish, for gorgeous contrast.

Last fall, Corbett joined forces with Martyn Lawrence Bullard. This thrilling collaboration brought nature to the table in unsuspected ways. Martyn believes in throwing your arms around the world for design. In two nature-inspired fixtures, Magic Garden and Milan, we travel from France to Italy.

In Magic Garden, Martyn pays tribute to Coco Chanel, whose love of the camellia flower was something he found fascinating and inspiring about her. Martyn said that, with his collection with Corbett, he was hoping to create "statements that are at once beautiful, thought-provoking, and provide just the right amount of magic." With Magic Garden, he struck on that balance perfectly. The balance of concealed and smoke-glass diffused light sources creates an aura of magic and mystery amidst the drama of contrasting petals. The obvious shape of a flower is given rich interest by using edgy metals and labor-intensive graphite, brass, and bronze finishes, the vigorous application of which creates the beautiful texture you see when taking a close look at it.

It's not all flowers, though. The sense of magic continues with the jawdropping Milan fixture. From flowers onto their fluttery pollinators, this family is comprised of many handmade Italian butterflies. 

Using the ancient Italian technique of piastra, there is an amber smoke running through the glass of these handmade butterflies, some of which appear yellow and some of which appear white. Gold leaf along the fixtures' gilded cage and the bodies of these Venetian glass butterflies creates a glittering appearance, light reflecting the luxe and filtering through their beautiful wings. Inspired by his love for vintage Murano pieces Martyn's collected in his travels across the globe, Milan is at once worldly and whimsical, evocative of heady summer days and wide-open childhood afternoons.

It's always hard to convey the size and scope of Corbett fixtures, which can be rather staggering in person. Check out pictures of it at last fall's High Point market with people standing near it and look at the picture of Martyn smiling in front of his creation below to get a better sense.

Looking to bring nature to the forefront in your home decor? Get more inspiration at our Organically Stunning Pinterest board and explore more of our gorgeous nature-inspired fixtures here.