Lamps
Poor light makes a room feel smaller than it is. This is where I keep the lamp guides: floor lamps for a reading corner, pendants over a table, wall lamps, and the small lamp that stays on after dusk. I look for a shade that throws light down, a material I can stand to see every day, and a price I checked on the date named on the card. Daylight comes first, then one warm lamp. If I have not lived with a lamp, the card will not claim that I tested it. I link the cheapest tracked store first and mark a photo exact only when I am sure, otherwise similar to.
Swing-arm wall lamps for reading corners
A swing-arm wall lamp is the reading light that does not steal floor space. Mounted right, it puts a pool of light on the page and folds back when you are done. Mounted wrong, it blinds you or leaves the book in shado…
Floor lamps for dark corners
A dark corner makes the whole room feel unfinished at night. A floor lamp is often the fix: light at living height, no ceiling work, easy to move. The full decision tree is in [how to choose a floor lamp](/blog/how-to…
The Arco lamp problem (and what to buy instead)
The Arco floor lamp (Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos, 1962) hangs a light over a table from a marble base that sits far away. It is a design icon and a spatial bully. Exact Flos pieces are expensive. Cop…