Lamps

Table lamps or floor lamps

Most of the lamps we stock are table lamps, and they are the easiest place to begin. A table lamp on a side table, console or sideboard puts light at seated eye level, where it feels kindest in the evening. Height and weight do the deciding: the shade should hide the bulb from your chair, and a heavier base stays steady on a busy surface.

Floor lamps need no table. They go beside a sofa or fill a dark corner, and their height spreads light further across a room. A tripod floor lamp stands on splayed legs, so give it a little more floor than a lamp on a slim stem. Pairing a floor lamp with a table lamp across the room gives a softer glow than a ceiling light alone.

Bedside lamps, touch lamps and night lights

Bedside lamps are table lamps for the bedroom. Aim for the bottom of the shade to rest near your shoulder when you sit up in bed, so light falls on the page rather than in your eyes, and choose a slim base that leaves room for a book and a glass of water.

A touch lamp switches on when you tap it, which is easier than hunting for a small switch in the dark; check the product page to see whether a tap dims it too. We also stock a few night lights, which give just enough glow to find your way after lights out.

Desk lamps and reading lamps

We stock desk lamps for a home office, a study or a homework corner. A desk lamp is there to light a task, so look for an arm or head you can angle onto your work, and a base heavy enough to stay put when you move it. At a screen, aim the light beside the monitor so it does not bounce back as glare.

Reading in a chair needs the same focused light from a little higher up. Some of our floor and table lamps have a directed head made for this, so set the lamp just behind and beside your chair and aim the light at the book.

LED table lamps and LED floor lamps

Many of our lamps have an integrated LED in place of a bulb, so there is nothing extra to buy or fit; you will find them under LED table lamps and LED floor lamps. With no bulb to swap later, check the colour temperature before you order.

We stock many lamps with a warm white light. A lamp marked 2700K gives a cosy glow and 3000K a slightly crisper warm white, and both suit a living room or bedroom. Cool white, such as 4000K, and daylight keep fine detail sharp at a desk, and we stock them too. Some of our lamps let you change the white from warm to cool, which helps in a room used for work by day and rest at night.

Rechargeable lamps, indoors and out

Many of our lamps are rechargeable, with sections of their own for table and floor lamps. Once charged, a rechargeable lamp runs without a cable, so it can light a dining table, a shelf far from a socket or a reading corner, then move with you to another room.

We also stock lamps rated for outdoor use. Some are rechargeable, so you can carry light out to a terrace or garden table. Check the rating on the product page to see how much weather a lamp can take before you leave it outside.

Bulb fittings and dimming for lamps

If a lamp takes a bulb, its fitting decides which bulb you need. Most of our lamps take the larger screw cap, known as ES, and many take the small screw cap (SES) or a bayonet cap (BC). Others take a capsule or spotlight bulb, so match the cap shown on the product page and check whether a bulb is included.

We stock many dimmable lamps. Check the product page to see how a lamp dims, whether by a switch on the cable, a foot dimmer, a touch or a separate dimmer. If the lamp takes a bulb, that bulb must be dimmable too, so buy them together.

Lamp styles, materials and finishes

Most of our lamps are modern in style, but we stock many traditional designs too, along with Scandinavian, rustic and industrial looks. Metal features in the majority of our lamps, with finishes from black and white to brass, gold, silver, chrome and nickel, whether matt, polished, satin, brushed or antique.

Fabric and linen shades soften the light and hide the bulb, while glass and crystal add sparkle. Ceramic, wood and marble bring texture to a side table, and alabaster glows softly when lit. Some of our lamps are sold as a base alone, so you can choose your own shade; look for the words base, without shade or shade not included in the title.