Finding the best lamp to enhance your space is important: the right lamp can enhance your space, but the wrong lamp can make even a beautiful room seem dingy and drab.
When choosing the lamps for your home, think about the lighting effect you want to create, whether that’s bright and cheerful or soft and relaxing, and what style of lamp will best match the rest of the decor in your home.
Layer Your Lighting
To create the perfect layered lighting setup, you want to use your lamps to give ambient and task lighting.
Ambient lighting is the main source of light in each room. While this can come from an overhead or ceiling light, some rooms may not have such lighting fixtures, and you’ll have to use lamps as your main source of light instead.
Task lighting is the layer of light needed to perform a task. Lamps often provide this lighting. You’ll want a desk lamp to do your work or to help you read, and maybe a small lamp at your vanity to apply makeup. You may want a lamp in the kitchen to light your workspace as you prepare a delectable dish.
When choosing your lamps, think about the function it is performing: providing ambient lighting or task lighting, and which type of lamp will best provide that.
Choose Your Lamp Type and Design
One of the most popular ways to provide ambient lighting is with a tall floor lamp. Floor lamps can brighten a room immensely and add character.
You can add a floor lamp to a bedroom, living room, or entryway to provide the brightest and highest light possible. You usually want these types of lamps to blend in with the space or look regal. It’s best to stick to simpler designs.
Every household has a table lamp or two, and these usually provide both ambient and task lighting. Place a couple on your end tables or coffee table to light your living room.
Table lamps are a popular way to add decor to your end tables, bed stands, and countertops while warming up the space with some added light. Many table lamps come with a USB port so that you can conveniently charge your devices wherever you are spending time in your home.
Desk lamps are not always pretty, but they are functional. You can still find some ornamental ones that will help you get the job done. There’s a broad assortment to choose from when it comes to finding the best desk lamps.
When looking at different types of lamps, you’ll want to consider the design. Would something simple and elegant look best? Or would a more unique, ornate lamp fit with the style of your home?
Do you need a lamp that fits with the rustic farmhouse look you’re going for, or are you in the market for some beautiful antique lamps?
Choose Your Lamp Placement
Once you’ve found the type and style of lamp you want, you’ll want to think about where you will place it. How big and bright should the lamp be to fill the space with light?
Are you seeking to light a corner or the whole room? How much floor, table, or desk space do you have? You don’t want a small lamp in a big space, or a big lamp to fill a small space.
You’ll also want to think about getting lamps with dimmer switches so that you can adjust the level of light for wherever you place the lamps so that it can work with the natural light.
Choose Your Bulbs
You might be overwhelmed when trying to find the right bulb for your lamp. Many hardware and home stores will be able to help you determine the kind of bulb you’ll need, but you need some information before you go shopping.
If you want something energy-efficient that will last a long time, the light-emitting diodes (LED) bulbs are a popular choice. These bulbs have lower wattage but are just as bright.
You’ll want to look at the inside of the lamp or get information from the seller about the lumens and wattage the lamp requires. These determine the amount of light and energy usage.
Lumens are a measurement of how much light a light bulb emits: the more lumens, the brighter the light. To give you an idea of the range you’ll be looking for, the commonly-used 100-watt (non-LED) bulbs produce about 1600 lumens.
The wattage, or amount of energy a particular light bulb uses, will determine how much electricity is needed. Lower wattage light bulbs use less energy and are thus both more cost-effective and environmentally-conscious.
Make sure you know the wattage and lumen count you want when you shop for your light bulbs.
Another element to consider is the light color, which can affect the mood of the room. Look for the Kelvin (K) number to determine the light color.
If it is a lower Kelvin number, in the 2700K-3000K range, it will be a soft, yellowish white light. These bulbs are standard, and used to light many living spaces.
The 3000K to 4000K provides a warm white light that is ideal for your kitchen, on your desk, or in your bathrooms.
If you want a bright white light that is almost blue, look at bulbs in the 4000K to 5000K range. This is a good light to use for detailed work if you are applying makeup, working on a painting, or fixing something in your garage.
You might choose a bulb in the 5000K to 6500K for reading or a close up activity such as jewelry-making, or knitting as these provide light comparable to daylight.
Choose Your Lamp Shade
Lastly, you’ll want to choose a lamp shade that goes with the style, body, and attachment of the lamp stand. Some lamps come with a shade, but you might want to replace it if you find it doesn’t work well.
The key to finding a good lamp shade is to make sure it is translucent enough to provide the level of light you want in the room. You’ll also want to consider what shape you want. Lamp shades come in many shapes and designs.
They might be odd, novelty shades, rectangular or square ones for more modern lamps, or the classic bowl-shaped. Other types of shades include the empire shade, which is the classic cone-shaped lampshade.
The bell shape is a skirt-shaped cone with curved sides and a wide brim at the bottom. Lastly, the drum shade is a tall, wide cylindrical-shaped shade.
Once you’ve selected all the parts to make the perfect lamp for your space, you can enjoy your mood-lighting and even show it off to your friends!
