HABITAT Light Touch

Perfectly Imperfect lamps are the hallmark of The Nelson Line, a Dallas-based collection of home furnishings. Designer Chipper Nelson, right, revives odd architectural elements discovered on trips through Texas and Mexico. As magical as the original shapes that once graced leafy gardens or embellished rural buildings, the Nelson lamps are rooted in the past. Cast In modern stone, they echo time. ■ In an unassuming studio near the Trinity River, Nelson and two craftswomen hand mold the lamp bases in cement, cast cement or cast stone. “The lamps take on an old feeling while keeping a clean, contemporary line, ” Nelson says. The cast lamps weigh less, but the cement pieces can be used on porches or in other protected outdoor rooms. The materials are natural products, so they age beautifully. ■ “Originally I was not a lamp person, ” Nelson laughs. “So if I could like these lamps, I knew lamp people would love them.” ■ The Nelson Line is available through designers at the David Sutherland Showroom, 1707 Oak Lawn.