Made from hand-blown glass, or glass-like plastics, these voluminous globe-shaped table lamps layer colors, different levels of transparency and light to create contemporary luminaries with an ethereal glow.

The Light Tray is a collaboration between Norwegian designers Daniel Rybakken and Andreas Engesvik. Designed for Swedish brand Asplund, the Light Tray is made up of four bulbs mounted on a white lacquered metal tray and placed under tinted hand blown glass domes. Slightly elevated on rubber feat, the metal tray serves to conceal the lamps’ wires while creating a magical floating effect.

The Yoko table lamp by Norwegian designers Anderssen & Voll for Foscarini features a bubble-like PMMA diffuser mounted on an injection-moulded translucent opaline polycarbonate cup base, which contains and conceals the light source. The lightly-tinted bubble-shaped diffuser is made using an injection-blowing technique that’s very similar to glass blowing. The on/off switch is located on the transparent cable.

With its voluminous hand blown glass diffuser rested on the point of a delicate aluminum support, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s Lighthouse lamp for Established & Sons is a lesson in balance. The precarious-looking composition is anchored by a weighty marble base available in black or white Carrara marble with an amber or smoky grey shade.

Launched last year as part of Artemide's 2013 Collection, the Empatia lamp by Carlotta de Bevilacqua cleverly unites LED technology with traditional hand blown glass. The LED lightsource, located in the base of the lamp, shines up through a central synthetic rod, reflects off the lamp's opaque top and radiates out through the outer Venetian glass dome.

Canadian lighting brand Bocci’s 28d, made using a complex glass blowing technique, is designed to sit on a horizontal surface - a desk, table, shelf, or even the floor. A  unique spherical diffuser houses a collection of inner satellites, one of which is an opaque milk white glass bubble that houses a 20 watt xenon lamp.