Flindt, LP Grand or AJ Eklipta: Which Louis Poulsen Wall Lamp

Three round Louis Poulsen wall lamps, three very different ways of putting light on a wall. The Flindt, the LP Grand and the AJ Eklipta all read as a circle when you walk past, so the choice comes down to how far each one stands off the wall, how large the disc is, and where the light actually goes once it is switched on.

Three circles, three ideas about light

Two of these lamps come from the same hand. Christian Flindt designed the carved bollard that became a signature of the Louis Poulsen outdoor range in 2017, and the Flindt Wall Lamp carries that shape onto the wall: a die-cast aluminium circle with an elliptical recess cut into its face. Flindt's LP Grand family dates from 2016, and the LP Grand Wall Lamp brings its layered, curved rings to the vertical plane, where they sit against the wall like a shallow relief.

The third lamp is much older. Arne Jacobsen drew the AJ Eklipta Wall Lamp in 1956 for Rødovre Town Hall, wanting a luminaire that read as pure geometry, a luminous circle on the wall. A smaller size followed for his St Catherine's College in Oxford, and the design has barely changed since. Where the two Flindt lamps are sculpted metal that hides its light source, the Eklipta is a disc of mouth-blown white opal glass that glows across its whole face.

The numbers side by side

The table sets out the sizes exactly as Louis Poulsen gives them. Depth is the figure to watch in a corridor or on a stair, because it tells you how far the lamp projects into the space people walk through.

Where the light goes

This is the real difference, and it is worth thinking about before diameter or finish.

The Flindt throws its light down. The glowing recess casts an asymmetrical, glare-free wash onto the wall and floor below, while a faint ring of reflected light traces the lamp's own face. From across a room you see a dark disc with a crescent of light, rather than a bright object. That makes it a good choice where you want to light a path, a step or a door handle without putting a glowing surface at eye level. Switched off, it reads as a small piece of cast metal sculpture.

The LP Grand Wall splits the difference. A large angled reflector encircles the diffuser, so soft downlight mixes with indirect light bouncing off the wall behind. The wall itself becomes part of the fitting, which suits pale plaster and painted surfaces particularly well. Louis Poulsen describes the effect as the sun glowing through misty air, and it follows the glare-free thinking the company has pursued since Poul Henningsen.

The AJ Eklipta spreads its light evenly. The opal glass diffuses the whole disc, and the transparent rim lets a thin halo escape where glass meets wall, the small eclipse that gives the lamp its name. It gives general, all-round light rather than a directed pool, and the glass itself is the thing you look at. If you want a lamp that is visibly lit, a moon on the wall, this is the one.

Projection, diameter and scale

All three stay close to the wall, but the details matter in tight spaces. The Flindt Ø 200 is the slimmest lamp here at 60 mm deep, and even the Ø 400 projects only 100 mm. The LP Grand sits at 90 mm. The Eklipta Ø 220 is the deepest of the smaller sizes at 105 mm, though at 1.0–1.4 kg it is also by far the lightest, which keeps fixing simple.

Diameter is a question of the wall, not the room. A Ø 200 Flindt or a Ø 220 Eklipta reads as a discreet accent beside a door or a bed. The LP Grand at Ø 320 is a single, generous size with more presence, so it works best where it has some clear wall around it. The larger Flindt and Eklipta sizes, Ø 300 to Ø 450, belong on facades, double-height stairwells and long corridor walls, where a small disc would look lost.

Weight also rises steeply with size. The Flindt Ø 400 comes in at 14.7 kg and the Eklipta Ø 450 at 12.9 kg, so check the wall construction before you commit. The Flindt must be installed by a certified electrician.

Indoors, outdoors and in between

Only the Flindt is rated IP65, so it is the one to choose for an exposed exterior wall, flanking a front door, a gate or a terrace. Indoors it is equally at home, and the same disc can run from the entrance through to the hallway for a consistent line.

The LP Grand Wall is IP20 and meant for interiors. It can be mounted on a wall or ceiling with rear or side cable entry, and it pairs well with the suspended and surface-mounted LP Grand if you want continuity through a house. Mounted in pairs either side of a sofa or bed, it frees up table and floor space entirely.

The Eklipta sits in both camps depending on size. The Ø 220 is IP20 and at home beside a bed, in place of a table lamp, or hung in a symmetrical pair around a mirror or above a sofa. The Ø 350 and Ø 450 are IP44 and have long been used outdoors and on stairways. For more on choosing light beside the bed, see our guide to bedside reading lamps from Louis Poulsen.

Which one to choose

• Choose the Flindt for downward, glare-free light on a path, step or entrance, for outdoor use, or where you want the lamp to look like sculpture when it is off.
• Choose the LP Grand Wall for soft indoor light that uses the wall as a reflector, for pairs by a bed or sofa, and if you already have LP Grand pendants.
• Choose the AJ Eklipta if you want the disc itself to glow, for even, general light, and for a piece of 1950s Jacobsen geometry that has hardly changed in seven decades.

If you are still weighing up shapes and sizes, browse the full range of designer wall lamps to see these three alongside other Danish and European wall lights.