Lamps provide more than just lighting to your home or office. The right lamp can be an expression of personality and can create a mood in the room that it illuminates. From the elegant to the funky, there are lamps for just about any occasion. On the surface all lamps have the same components, a cord, a switch, a bulb, and a shade. Although all lamps are related by these simple components, there is a huge difference in quality, style, and price between different types of lamps.
Standard decorator lamps can be found just about anywhere from department stores to discount stores or even second hand stores. You can find a decent lamp at a reasonable price from any of these sources. If you are looking for a more upscale lamp, you should consider a specialty lighting store or an online retailer specializing in lamps. These specialty shops have a wide selection of lamps from the casual to the elegant across all price ranges.
One thing to consider when you are selecting a lamp is the type of lighting you are expecting from the lamp. Lamps use three types of bulbs and in some cases they are interchangeable (more about that later). If you want natural looking light and don’t need anything too bright, standard incandescent is the way to go. If you need very bright light you should consider halogen. Keep in mind these lamps produce a great deal of heat so you don’t want the lamp the be placed where it can come in contact with plants or people. Finally if you want soft lighting you can use a florescent bulb. Florescent lamps have somewhat less natural light, but they use much less energy that a comparable incandescent bulb. They also stay quite a bit cooler. Depending on the style of lamp you select, it can be possible to substituted different bulbs if you change your mind later. Normally incandescent and florescent bulbs can be interchanged.
Lamp height is also an important factor when selecting a lamp and can limit your choices. If you expect to place the lamp on a side table, you will need to consider only table lamps. Normally you want to limit the size of a table lamp to about 24 inches. If you go beyond that these can be excessive glare produced that can make the lamp a distraction. Free standing lamps are designed to stand in a corner or near a table and provide either up or down lighting. You can have light with a very dramatic effect using this type of lamp. Also a free standing lamp can become and interesting design element that does not need to tie directly into a room.
The next time you are looking for just the right lamp, take some time to browse your local lighting shop and don’t forget the online sources. You will find not only a great selection of lamps for every room, you can also do a little decorating at the same time.
