This queer- and woman-owned brand is changing the game for renters' icky lighting situations

Save for the occasional piece of flat-pack furniture or very simple DIY, as a renter (and not very crafty person) I have my limits. One project I won't touch with a 10-foot pole is anything that has to do with wiring and lighting. Doable, sure, but I have no interest in it and neither does my landlady. Unfortunately, this leaves my living room and bedroom lighting situations restricted to floor lamps, table lamps, and *shivers* the overhead light. There are few pretty options within my budget, none are quite as pretty as the pendant lights and sconces gracing my ideal life Pinterest boards. 

That's all changing today. Rose Fierman and Caroline Matthes are the brilliant minds behind Poplight, a wall-mounted light fixture that's just as stylish as the rest but doesn't require any stressful ventures into your walls or wiring. With the Kickstarter campaign launching today (and receiving full funding after 22 minutes), the future is looking a lot brighter for us renters and the DIY averse. 

How Poplight works

You and your security deposit can rest easy — you won't need a drill or any tools really to get this light hung up on your wall. It even has a built-in level, so rush shipping a tool you'll probably use once isn't necessary either. 

To get this pretty and petite orb up and running, you simply peel off the covers on the adhesive back, get it level, and stick it on. You're not beholden to one kind of light temperature either or a plug socket. Through the brand's app, you can change between warm, cool, and neutral light and the battery is rechargeable through a USB-C cord. Decorating and illuminating your space apparently can be that easy.

Another pain point of lighting? It's unbelievably expensive. I made a big money mistake when I bit the bullet and paid a hefty chunk for a lamp that not only looks a bit weird in my small home office but sheds pretty awful light. It only takes a certain bulb, so I'm stuck with a room lighting that's more akin to a creepy basement. Poplight sets a better tone and is much more affordable, ringing up at $69 during the crowdfunding campaign. 

The perfect lighting fix for rentals and small spaces

I've always been puzzled by why lighting has remained so difficult for those of us who can't — or don't want to — put permanent fixtures in our homes. Despite how important it is in our spaces, it's a difficult process picking, let alone installing, a new lamp to brighten a room. 

The wrong light gives me the ick, and I instantly feel worse sitting in a space when the visibility and light are all wrong. A light where you can control this and avoid carving out holes in your walls and ceiling is ideal. But aside from apartment dwellers like myself, van lifers will also find a solution in Poplight, which can give a glow to the dark corners of a mobile home, RV, van, or tiny home where extension cords or specialty wiring can't reach. It doesn't hurt that it's pretty darn chic, too.

Though I'm personally obsessed with the vibrant red shade, sage green and matte black are also available, with more colors to come in the future. It's currently in the crowd-funding phase — a smart time to buy thanks to discounts and other goodies — but I wouldn't sleep on it. With how easy it makes outfitting your space with an (actually) cute light fixture, I have a feeling these will be everywhere soon enough.