This Is What Inspired Nanoleaf Elements (New Wood Look Hexagons)

Creating Elements opened a whole new chapter for us at Nanoleaf. Our original smart lighting products focused on the technology, delivering bold shapes and bright colors along with it. But with Elements we took a completely different approach. When we looked to the design community, we found that many were slow to adopt smart home technology because esthetics and design were usually secondary to practical application. But at Nanoleaf it’s our mission to rethink what’s possible, so we thought, “what if we created a smart home product that was just as elegant as it was functional”?

What we set out to design was a piece of art that could fit into any home, and incorporate smart technology to become something really special. And most importantly, it needed to look good all the time, on or off.

We first looked at the interiors of different homes, studying modern and classic interior trends. When examining popular Scandinavian, bohemian, and even minimalistic interior styles, we discovered that the wood, stone, and fabric textures in these spaces really played an important role in creating a cohesive and visually interesting space. From this discovery we were inspired to play around with textures for the first time, ultimately choosing a neutral color and textured wood grain for our panels. This esthetic complimented every style of home, while the shape of the Hexagons added a geometric element to balance it harmoniously.

To accompany the natural feeling of the wood, we took on the idea of creatively using light to bring the best parts of the natural elements that inspired the name indoors. To do this, we developed a new technology that allows each of the six corners on the panels to illuminate independently to create an organic sense of motion. This made it possible to have Scenes that emulated the inspiring and comforting experiences that can only be found when we’re immersed in nature: a cozy campfire on a summer night, the gentle floating clouds on a sunny day, the glimmer of fireflies, or even the warm waves of a tropical beach. By capturing these things that naturally instill a sense of peace and calm within us, it allows the panels to bring that calm right into your home.

And where classic features like fireplaces might not be practical—in our modern homes, apartments, and condos—emulating that same comfort of a warm glow with ultra-slim panels that don’t take up any room returns that warm feeling of home to even the most sterile urban living spaces.

Everything that we set out to achieve with our Elements panels came together into something unlike anything you’ve seen before, something really beautiful and really incredible. We’re so excited to finally be able to share them with you, and can’t wait for you to experience them for yourselves.

You can find Nanoleaf Elements today at The Nanoleaf Shop. Elements will be available at more retailers globally later this month.

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