Whether you are decorating your house or your office, lighting is an essential part of aesthetics. It is not just about the adequate lighting to serve your needs but also about the look it gives to your entire room.
Gone are the days when tube lights and shades on the walls were the only sources of illumination in rooms. These days, there is a vast variety of floor lamps available in the market for everyone’s needs.
Whether you are looking for cheap lamps or expensive ones, chic or minimalist, small or huge; all types of lamps are now right at your fingertips. It is not easy for one to decide which lamp to buy and which lamp would suit the room in question.
Not everyone is a born decorator or a designer and most of us don’t even know how many types of lamps exist. The easier way is to open a site and search for the first twenty lamps in your budget and buy the ones you like.
Although this approach may be fine, there is always a floor lamp you come across later and regret not coming it before you made a decision. In order to help you find the best type of lamp for you and your space, we created this article which will help you discover the different types of floor lamps out there.

Why Look for the Perfect Floor Lamp?
Before delving into the types of floor lamps available in the market we must first assess whether or not our energies are put into the right mission. The question we ask is: why is it important to find the perfect lamp?
Floor lamps can be the essence of the room both aesthetically and through purpose. Not only can the floor lamps look beautiful and provide illumination but they can change the way your room appears. The decoration is one thing but what if your floor lamp can alter the size of the room as it appears to others?
Apart from the illusions of the lighting, your lamps are a reflection of your taste and riches in the society we live in. The purpose of floor lamps is much greater than reflecting on wealth, however, and there are many things to consider when buying a lamp.
The first step in choosing a lamp may be the color of your furniture, the space available for the floor lamp to be situated, the style you like, and the lighting of your choice. There are basically three types of lighting styles from which you can choose according to your need.
The first kind of lighting is called ambient lighting, which is responsible for the whole room to light up. Usually placed in the center of the room, its main objective is to make the room brighter and warmer with the intensity of light. This kind of lighting is well-suited for study rooms and bedrooms.
The second kind of lighting is task lighting which illuminates a specific part of the room. These kinds of lights are often found in reading areas, kitchens, office desks, etc. One should consider the kind of lighting one wants in their respective space as too bright for the bedroom would not fit the requirement just as too dim for the home office would not.
The third kind of lighting has many subcategories such as uplights, downlights, and dimmers. As the name indicates, these kinds of lighting have a specific purpose and they travel in directions.
An uplight will cause the light to glow towards the ceiling and reflect, a downlight would face the ground and dimmers are just adjustable lights that fit well in the sitting rooms and even bedrooms where one can relax.
Different Types of Floor Lamps
Floor lamps are a primary source of light in a room and a possible decorative tool all in one. An average floor lamp consists of a shade and a base, of course, along with a bulb. The third component of a floor lamp is an electrical wire that is the source of its power.
Floor Lamps come in all shapes and sizes and are often difficult to choose from. Here is a list of various floor lamp types.
1. Club Floor Lamp
The simplest styles of floor lamp are that of a club floor lamp. A club floor lamp gives a simplistic yet elegant design to your lamps and is easily available at any store. It consists of a traditional lamp with a sleek column and a light atop the edge.
Although this is what a normal club floor lamp may look like, there are many variations of the style in the market and is one of the easiest choices once since it costs comparatively lesser and is available in many colors.
2. Swing Arm Floor Lamp
The second choice of floor lamp is the Swing arm floor lamp. This floor lamp consists of a lampshade and a column base similar to the club floor lamp. Although the structure of this lamp is similar to that of the club floor lamp, there is a slight difference between the two of them.
Unlike the club floor lamp, the swing arm floor lamp has the added benefit of customization when it comes to direction. Yes, you can easily position the lamp to point in whichever direction you want as the lamp is not fixed but flexible. This can come especially handy when the light needs to be pointed in several directions.
3. Torchière
Just as the earliest most ancient concept of a flashlight, the torch or the torchiere lamp is known for its beautiful design. The shades on a torchiere floor lamp are triangular and the lighting would fall into the category of ambient.
The light is reflected through the shades and is directed towards the ceiling which gives the room a beautiful and aesthetic look. Ambient lighting can do wonders for the look of your room and cause it to appear much more fashionable than it is.
4. Tripod Floor Lamp
As the name indicates, a tripod floor lamp consists of three legs, or as we call it columns. The three columns are artistically entwined in many ways to lead up to a single shade that carries the light. The tripod effect makes the lamp look like a decorative piece.
A tripod floor lamp works best in places that are roomy and spacious. It would not do well in a cozy or small-sized room as the three columns take up some room.
5. Six-way Floor Lamp
If you have a spacious living room and you are looking for a lot of illumination then the six-way floor lamp is your best bet. The six-way floor lamp offers multiple bulbs in one shade. This kind of floor lamp is also called a candelabra lamp as the many bulbs represent the many candles in a candelabra.
The six-way floor lamp is a perfect example of where technology meets tradition. It looks stylish, provides ample light, and is available in many different designs on the market.
6. Tower Floor Lamp
The tower floor lamp is aesthetically designed to look like a tower. Consisting of a single column, the tower floor lamp is divided into different sections with multiple lamps piled on top of each other. Not only do these lamps present a beautiful decoration piece but it also leaves some of the sections empty which can be also used as a side table.
7. Down Bridge Floor Lamp
The down bridge floor lamp is basically a simple lamp with a slight change. The column of this lamp extends to a certain level in an upright manner after which it starts bending. The gentle slope of the column then leads to the light which is bending a little lower than the total length of the straight section of the column.
The lighting used in this kind of lamp is called task-based lighting which Is beneficial for illuminating a certain area of the room, for instance, your desk.
8. Pharmacy Floor Lamp
Consider the down bridge lamp and the shape it consists of; now imagine having a customized and flexible down bridge floor lamp which can be adjusted to the height you need. Not only can a pharmacy floor lamp be adjusted in height but the lampshade can also be redirected and focused in different directions.
The pharmacy floor lamp would be helpful for students and readers who like changing their seating area.
9. Arc Floor Lamp
The arc floor lamp is a lamp in the shape of an arc. The first question that comes to mind is how does it support itself? The Arc floor lamp is fragile on the top so the base of this lamp is very heavy.
Arc floor lamp consumes a lot of space so make sure to place it in a spacious setting out of the reach of pets and children. It looks beautiful and gives the room a modern look and stands out grabbing the attention of the onlookers.
Table Floor Lamp
A table floor lamp is often confused with a simple table lamp but that is not the case. A table floor lamp is neither just a table nor just a lamp; it is in fact, both! Yes, a table with a lamp attached can come in handy when the space in question is scarce.
In a table floor lamp option, there is no chance of the lamp toppling off the edge by accident. It is also easier to carry the table around along with the lamp wherever you please. Table floor lamps are available in classic glass and wooden materials giving a ravishing look to your room.
10. Soft Light Floor Lamp
Soft light floor lamps are exquisite to look at and they can turn your room into a beautiful and antique piece of art. The soft light floor lamps are designed in many shapes, but the key factor is that the lampshades are covered with fabrics of various kinds.
When the bright light, which may be a little too bright, passes through the fabric the result is beautiful. Not only does the light dim a little but also provides the pattern of shades on the fabric. These lamps are made for an intimate setting such as a bedroom or a living room.
11. Glass Tray Floor Lamp
If the tower floor lamp was too simple for you, the glass tray floor lamp will not disappoint you. The glass tray floor lamp is also based on a single column with multiple sections of the body. Each section consists of lampshades except for the ones which hold glass trays.
The glass tray floor lamp is very elegant to look at and practical to use in the absence of a table. These lamps are sophisticated and delicate, made to hold keys, phones, glasses of wine, or ashtrays.
Also Read:
How Tall Should be a Floor Lamp
How to Put Back a Lamp Together
How Much Electricity Does a Lamp Use
How to Baby Proof a Floor Lamp
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which lighting is better for a room that is designed for productivity?
If you are looking for productivity then task-based lighting suits the purpose. Task-based lighting can illuminate the specific areas where you work and dim the rest of the room helping you to concentrate.
How does a floor lamp impact the overall look of a room?
A floor lamp can enhance the colors of your furniture, can make the room appear more spacious, make the room look aesthetically pleasing and it can also help customize the amount of light you require at any given time.
What is the simplest kind of floor lamp?
A: The simplest kind of floor lamp is called a club floor lamp. It consists of one column and a lampshade responsible for illuminating the room.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a million possible to decorate your room using floor lamps but one must be careful about what they are buying. When there is a huge variety of products to choose from there is often great confusion as to which one to pick.
One must be aware of their budget, their available space, the color of their furniture, the function of the lamp that they require, the room they want to put the lamp in, and the required lighting.
Leave a Reply