Photo: Nature form furniture / Flickr

Table lamps are making something of a comeback, and they have the ability to make or break the look of a room. While most people no longer need lamps, the visual quality of a good table lamp greatly enhances the home, as well as improves the overall life of the room. Below are steps you should consider before choosing the right tabletop lamp, as well as recommendations of some of our favourite modern table lamps.

Function

Form should never take precedence over function, and this holds true for table lamps, too. You need to consider what you will be using the table lamp for because different functions have different designs. Reading lamps, for example, have a narrow spill area with a focused light source since the primary purpose is to illuminate what you’re reading. A lounge lamp is designed to provide soft light to a large area.

Appearance

A functional tabletop lamp that’s ugly is no good, either. You obviously want something that will, if not enhance your home, blend in well with all your other furniture, so go for a lamp that’s consistent with the overall look of your home. Size is also a key consideration both in terms of weight and height. Bulky lights look fantastic on big bold tables whereas narrow surfaces call for sleek table lamps. Height also determines where the light source originates, which is key when working with reading lamps, for example, since you neither want a lamp in your way, nor do you want it casting your shadow over your reading material.

Shading and temperature

Photo: Nature form furniture / Flickr

All lights fall within the temperature range of cold and warm, where cold is the more white light colour often seen in kitchens, and warm is the darker, more orange-yellow light colour found in bedrooms. Depending on how your home looks, colour temperature is an important consideration with more classic homes opting for the warm look, and the contemporary, almost industrial home looking perfect under colder lights. Your table lamp may be coupled with a coloured lamp shades for a dramatic lighting effect, too.

Our recommendation

While there are many great modern table lamps available on the market, the best lamps are often the most dramatically modern, or deliberately classic. The Phillips LED Rechargeable Candle lights are just perfect because they have all the trappings of the timeless candle, but are built with rechargeable LED (light-emitting diode) as the lighting mechanism.

When shopping for a tabletop lamp, always consider function and appearance, while experimenting with light temperature and shading to give your room that perfect look.

Tags: lighting