The Best Floor Lamps

Buying Guide

Floor lamps all provide light to a room, but there are many different styles and each one can have a different effect on how and where it projects its light. A floor lamp has a heavy base that helps it stand upright without toppling over and it often sits in a corner of a room to project light upwards that will then reflect down over the entire room, but some styles aim the light down and are designed to transmit a more narrow beam of light directly onto something below.

To figure out which type of floor lamp is right for you, read below as we touch down on some of the finer differences in each style so that you can make an educated purchase that will serve you well.

Most floor lamps today use LED bulbs. LED bulbs are much more energy-efficient than their predecessors and they run at a much cooler temperature which makes them less of a fire hazard, as well. The issue with LED lights is that they are often associated with harsh, bright lighting that tends to be whiter than we want in our homes, where many of us opt for warmer and more comfortable light colors. To know how “cold” or “warm” an LED light is going to look, you need to look at the temperature of the light waves as measured in Kelvin. A warm and more yellow-looking LED light needs to output a high Kelvin value of 6000K or more. The lower the temperature, like in a 2000K LED bulb, the whiter the color of the light will seem, making it more sterile-feeling and appropriate for a workshop or office where that lighting is beneficial. If you’re using one in your living room, it might be safe to err on the side of the warmer colors that are in the 5000K-7000K range. Luckily for you, there are many companies making floor lamps that can change colors with the press of a button, so finding one with the warmer light is easier than ever.

The brightness of an LED floor lamp is not the same thing as the colors we mentioned above but rather a factor measured in Lumens. You can have a really bright white or yellow-looking LED light depending on how many Lumens are being put out by the bulbs. It is common for people to want different brightness settings depending on the time of day and the activities they are doing inside, so finding a floor lamp that has adjustable brightness settings is an easy way to make sure all your future brightness-needs can be met seamlessly.

The design of the lamp is the next key factor to think about. A lamp that points directly up will shine on the ceiling and upper walls before reflecting it back down into the room. This scatters the light softly so most things are illuminated without the harsh glare of a visible lightbulb. Some floor lamps have a half-dome diffuser that is shaped like a bowl to let diffused light directly down into the room, but only after it is softened by this plastic or glass diffuser. These options all give a nice, soft light to any room and are usually the go-to style for lighting rooms in a home.

A floor lamp with a light that points down can be placed behind the couch or next to your bed to direct light onto something in your lap. If you’re knitting while watching TV or reading a book in bed, this style of a floor lamp will illuminate what you’re looking at so you don’t strain your eyes. These floor lamps will usually have a long, arched neck that can be bent down or rotated around to make sure you can get the beam of light directly where you want it.

• Match the style of the lamp to other pieces in your room to create a complementary decor.
• Balance a room by putting floor lamps in opposing corners to distribute light evenly.
• A remote-controlled lamp can make your life a lot easier, especially if the lamp is in a far corner of the room that requires you to reach over an awkward table or couch every time you want to turn it off.
• Use your floor lamps as nightlights if they offer a super-dim nighttime setting.
• Using floor lamps with multiple colors and brightness options usually won’t cost much more, but the combination will always offer the biggest range of lighting benefits for you.