Own a VL 45? Where the VL 38, VL 56 and VL Studio go next
Keep the VL 45 over the table. Add the VL 38 floor lamp by a reading chair, VL 56 pendants over an island or bar, and a VL Studio globe on a shelf or sideboard.
Short answer: Leave the VL 45 where it does its best work, over the dining table, and give each of its relatives a different job. The VL 38 floor lamp belongs beside a reading chair or sofa arm, the VL 56 hangs in rows over a kitchen island or bar, and a VL Studio globe sits on a shelf, sideboard or the floor as low background light.
All four come from fittings Vilhelm Lauritzen drew for his own buildings, Radiohuset among them. We have told the VL 45 story in VL 45 Radiohus: Lauritzen's broadcasting house lamp, then and now, so this piece starts where that one stops: you have, or want, a VL 45 Radiohus Pendant. Which relative earns a place in the same home?
Four lamps, four jobs
The four share brass and restraint but throw light in four different ways, so no two really compete for the same spot. The question is which part of your home is missing what.
| Lamp | Light it gives | Size (mm) | Light source | Where we would put it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VL 45 Radiohus | Even glow from a mouth-blown glass globe | Ø 175 x 246 or Ø 250 x 328 | E14 max 20 W or E27 max 100 W | Dining table, bedside (Ø 175) |
| VL 38 Floor | Small tilting shade, directed and glare-controlled | 135 x 250 footprint, 1200 high | Built-in LED, 9.6 W, 2700 K | Reading chair, sofa arm, bed |
| VL 56 | Downward light with a perforated edge | Ø 177 x 112 | E27 max 40 W | Island, bar counter, narrow table |
| VL Studio | Diffuse glow from three-layered opal glass | Ø 150, Ø 250 or Ø 320 | G9 max 25 W (Ø 150), E27 max 40 W | Shelf, sideboard, floor corner |
The VL 38: when one person reads and the room stays dim
The VL 38 Floor Lamp is the one to add if your evenings involve a book. Its small shade tilts, so you aim the light at the page instead of washing the room, or turn it to the wall for soft side light.
The base measures 135 by 250 mm, which fits between an armchair and a wall, or beside a bed where a side table would crowd things. The 4 m cord reaches a socket behind a sofa without an extension lead.
The cord switch has two dimming settings, and the 4 or 8-hour auto-off timer covers anyone who falls asleep reading. The base and shade come in white or black powder-coated aluminium; the stem is untreated brass in both, and it will darken. At 9.3 kg it stays put, which is what you want next to a chair that gets bumped.
The VL 56: the pendant for where the VL 45 is too big
Lauritzen designed the VL 56 Pendant in 1956 for the Danish Labour Movement's building in Copenhagen, now the Vega concert hall, and it was reintroduced in 2023 in polished chrome-plated aluminium and polished brass. Where the VL 45 spreads light sideways through glass, the VL 56 is metal all round and sends light down, with a ring of perforations around the opening to soften the edge of the pool.
Over a counter you want light on the worktop, not in the eyes of someone on a stool. At 177 mm across and 112 mm high it also suits spots where a 328 mm tall VL 45 Ø 250 would feel bulky.
Our spacing rule for a row of VL 56
Divide the length of the counter by the number of pendants. That figure is the distance between centres, and the first and last pendants sit half that distance in from each end.
- 180 cm island, three pendants: centres 60 cm apart, the outer two 30 cm from the ends. With 17.7 cm shades, about 42 cm of air stays between them.
- 120 cm counter, two pendants: centres 60 cm apart, each 30 cm from its end.
Each has a 4 m white textile cord and its own canopy, so plan one ceiling outlet per pendant. Bulbs are not included.
The VL Studio: light for the parts of the room you do not look at directly
The VL Studio Table/Floor Lamp is the simplest of the four: a globe of mouth-blown, three-layered opal glass on a base of brushed brass or matt black aluminium, reintroduced in 2022 and drawn from the same Radiohuset project. It gives no direction at all, which is its use: it fills the corners a VL 45 and a VL 38 leave dark.
Size it by surface and weight:
- Ø 150 (145 mm high, 2.4 to 2.9 kg): windowsill, bookshelf, bedside table.
- Ø 250 (244 mm high, 7.2 to 8.4 kg): desk or sideboard; check a floating shelf can take it.
- Ø 320 (310 mm high, 14.7 to 17.4 kg): the floor beside a sofa or chair. Treat it as furniture, not a lamp you move nightly.
The cord is 2.5 m with a plug and an in-line switch, shorter than on the VL 38, so a floor-standing Ø 320 wants a socket close by.
Which one we would add first
If you read in the evening: the VL 38. It is the only one of the four built to aim light at a page.
If you have a kitchen island or bar counter: two or three VL 56, spaced with the rule above. Pick chrome if your kitchen has steel and white surfaces, brass if it already has warm wood and you are happy for it to patinate alongside the VL 45 fitting.
If the room feels flat at night even with the VL 45 on: a VL Studio, Ø 250 on a sideboard or Ø 320 on the floor. It adds low, even light without another bright point in view.
If you are furnishing from scratch: VL 45 over the table, then VL 38 by the chair. Those two cover eating and reading; the others refine. The full range sits in our Vilhelm Lauritzen collection.
