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Floor Lamps

Few types of lighting offer the variety and versatility of floor lamps. Fit them in any corner of the room to create eye catching appeal. Place them beside a sofa or chair to provide task lighting or to simply accent the decor. Add glamour in a hallway entrance or overall illumination in the family room. Unlike track, recessed, and pendant lights, floor lamps are portable. They are convenient, and easy to position anywhere. You simply move them where needed and plug them in. There are hundreds of styles of floor lamps from which to choose and a price range to suit any budget. Styles run from traditional to contemporary, from plain to elegant, from muted tones to colorful, from brass to chrome. In short, floor lamps offer a simple yet elegant means to fill in lighting gaps sometimes left by even the most flexible track lighting or cable lighting system.

Basic floor lamp design

All of the different styles of floor lamps are essentially based on one of three different designs. Each design enhances different lighting functions.

Single light design

This is the traditional floor lamp with a single light at the top of the pole. It may have a cloth shade or a Tiffany glass shade to direct the main light down. It may be the torchiere design which is an inverted glass bowl or cone shaped shade to direct the light up. Depending upon the type of shade, this lamp design can provide either task or accent lighting.

Multi light design – along the pole

This design features multiple lights, typically two or three, attached along the lamp neck. These lights can be individually adjusted for light beam direction. This makes a single multifunctional floor lamp. Placed between two chairs, it can provide reading light for each one and wall accent illumination at the same time. This floor lamp is great for an area of limited size but larger light demand, like a dorm room.

Multi light design – at the top of the pole

This design features multiple lights, perhaps as many as five or six, extending upward and fanning out from the top of the lamp neck. Typically the lights have either inverted shades or small globes covering them. This makes excellent accent lighting. The type of illumination it provides and the very style of the fixture can really add a “wow” factor to any décor. The task lighting is not as effective as the other designs. The accent light is terrific, however, and it provides somewhat better general lighting in the immediate area.