Offering widespread ambient lighting and direct task lighting, floor lamps are versatile enough to suit many design styles and applications. The best starting point is deciding what job the lamp needs to do—ambient, task, or accent—so you can narrow your search before style comes into play. Despite this, finding the right one can still be daunting. Read on to learn about the things to look for while seeking the perfect floor lamp.
Types of Floor Lamps
The general setup of a floor lamp is simple: a sturdy base that stands on the floor, a tall stem extending from the base and a light that might be direct or diffused. While the bare bones remain the same, floor lamps come in a variety of styles, each with their own unique functional benefits.
Ambient Floor Lamps
The most common type of floor lamps, ambient floor lamps are meant to provide general light to a space. They are topped with a traditional lamp shade, which diffuses the light for semi-direct illumination, making them great for a living room corner or next to a comfortable sofa or lounge chair. They typically provide enough light for reading nearby, though not as focused as the light from a reading lamp.
Reading Floor Lamps
A floor lamp meant for reading provides more direct, focused light than other types of floor lamps—think downward task illumination rather than the indirect uplight of a torchiere. If you’re looking for a lamp to brighten up your favorite nook, a desk or a place you do other daily tasks, a reading lamp will usually offer brighter illumination to the space directly below it. For added versatility, look for a reading lamp with a tilting shade, flexible arm or other adjustment capabilities so you can move the light exactly where you need it.
Uplight and Torchiere Floor Lamps
Similar in structure to their traditional shaded counterparts, torchiere floor lamps are distinguished by their upward-pointing shades. The unique direction of this style of shade makes the light more of an accent than ambient or task lighting and can add dimension to corners and walls. Reach for a torchiere when you want soft, indirect illumination—ideal for brightening a corner or washing a wall with light—rather than focused task work.
Arc Floor Lamps
While standard floor lamps stay where you put them, an arc floor lamp can offer a bit more versatility. Combining a reading lamp and an ambient floor lamp, arc lamps have a stem that extend up and out. When the stem is adjustable, you can move the shade directly over the space to light it more directly, making it ideal for task lighting such as reading on a chair or working at a table. Other arc lamps can duplicate the effect of an overhead light, stretching way up and over a space so they can be used for living room conversation spaces or with a dining table.
How to Size and Scale a Floor Lamp
Choosing the right size floor lamp means balancing height, footprint, and the scale of the room. Here are the key guidelines:
Size and Footprint
Shaded or torchiere lamps, while tall, take up a narrow amount of space due to their vertical orientation, making them easy to fit into the surrounding space. Meanwhile, arc floor lamps take up more space due to their horizontal extension. It’s crucial to know how much space you have to fit a floor lamp into, so you can be proactive about finding the right size.
If you’re looking at a lamp with a tripod base, make sure you have enough real estate on the floor and in the surrounding area, so the lamp doesn’t feel cramped or is constantly being run into.
Height
The higher the light source, the wider spread of the light. This is great for ambient lighting but may be less ideal for task lighting where you want the light closer and more focused but out of the way when you’re sitting next to it.
Also consider the scale of everything else in the room—if you have a penchant for low, platform-style furniture, make sure the lamp you choose isn’t going to tower above it all. Some floor lamps come with adjustable heights, which can be handy if you’re prone to switching things up often.
Finally, choose a floor lamp that allows the light source to be concealed outside of your eye level to avoid an uncomfortable glare. If you’re standing nearby, the light source of the lamp should be covered by the shade.
Quick Reference: Floor Lamp Height by Ceiling
| Ceiling Height | Recommended Lamp Height |
|---|---|
| 8 feet | 58–64 inches |
| 10 feet | 70–76 inches |
