11 Types of Floor Lamps to Brighten Things up in Your Home

The lights in your home are an important part of setting the right atmosphere and kindling some homey spirit. Nobody wants to live in a dingy dark place with minimal lighting. Alas, the light fixtures your home currently has are difficult to radically change without doing some construction work. You can definitely brighten things up with some brighter LED bulbs, but that will only go so far.

If what you need is more lights spread over a brighter area, you’re gonna need to add lighting in any way you can. This is part of the reason floor lamps come in so handy. The versatility of lamps means that you can place them virtually anywhere and use them to add light to specific parts of your home. This means that a lamp works well in virtually any kind of home setup regardless of how much room you have or what kind of interior layout you’ve got set up.

In effect, floor lamps give you a cheap and easy way to add light to any part of your home. Just plug it in and presto, you’ve just made a part of your home a whole lot brighter. Add another lamp and things will become brighter still. Floor lamps are especially good at increasing ambient light, and adjustable ones can be set to shine in specific places, allowing you to make full use of the extra light in whatever way you see fit. Of course, there are many different lamp configurations, styles, and design types out there, and this is a selection of popular ones to make the choice easier.

1. Swing Arm

Swing arm lamps come in many sizes, with maximized practicality.

On top of having a pretty cool name, the swing arm floor lamp is especially practical because its design allows you to move the top part of the lamp around using a type of swinging arm (hence the name). This allows you to get the lamp to shine on a specific area so that you don’t have to move the entire floor lamp fixture just to adjust your lighting. 

2. Pharmacy Floor Style 

Stylish and adjustable, they’re all one needs for a perfect and practical interior.

These types of lamps have a pretty distinctive design that gives them their unique name. An antique wooden floor lamp such as this one directs the light down much as those vintage task lamps did in office buildings. Unlike those desk lamps, the pharmacy floor lamp is far taller of course, and therefore much more adjustable. It is not unusual for this design to have a head that is adjustable vertically as well as horizontally. 

3. Table Lamps

There’s never a shortage of table lamp options.

This is a pretty generic variant and that’s no surprise because it is quite popular, being found in nearly every home. Table lamps include both lamps that can be placed on tabletops to provide an extra bit of illumination as well as small floor lamps that are built into tables giving a multi-purpose piece of furniture. Either way, table lamps are popular for their ease of use as well as the fact that they save by far the most space. 

4. Arc Floor Lamp

This lamp type can look both unique and chic.

This lamp comes in different heights and designs but it is, in general, quite a tall lamp that is designed to arch over the thing it illuminates. This makes it perfect for setting up so that it arches over a couch or accent chair as this allows it to be used for reading as well as extra illumination. These unique floor lamps can also lend an artistic air to any living space. 

5. Multi-Way Lamps

Configure your lamp to illuminate specific spots.

These lamps are especially practical thanks to their smart adjustable design. The multiple heads on this unit allow for a much wider amount of customizability that allows for the lights to be positioned in a variety of different angles so no part of the room is left in the dark. The fact this design has multiple bulbs also means you might not have to buy multiple lamps, which is always a plus. 

6. Down Bridge Lamp

A tall task lamp comes in many forms.

This floor lamp is one that is designed with a more focused beam, making it perfect as a lamp for your office or reading room. This is why it is also known as a task floor lamp as it is essentially a taller version of the standard task lamp you can still find on many office desks today.

Unlike your vintage task lamp, however, the down bridge lamp is made to be much more adjustable, meaning it has a wider field of application. For instance, anybody using those electrically adjustable desks will love this floor lamp because it can illuminate your desk at any height you set it. 

7. Torchiere

Boost ambient lighting with style.

With a fancy name like that, you know it’s gonna be something special. In truth, torchiere means torch, so that should give you some idea of what such a floor lamp should look like. Much as with a tiki torch, the benefit of a torch lamp is that it directs the light to spill out and over the top of the lamp.

This means that a torchiere is basically purpose-built to increase ambient brightness efficiently to make up for a lack of natural lighting. You may not be able to adjust anything more than the brightness with a lamp like this, but rest assured it will be very bright. Plus the curved design of this lamp makes it both an effective and beautiful accent lamp all in one very compelling package. 

8. Tripod Lamp

Few other floor lamps come close when it comes to making a statement.

Most lamps have the familiar pole design, but why not try something a bit more unconventional like a tripod-style floor lamp? These kinds of lamps have three legs that work together to add stability to your unique floor lamp and keep it pointing upright. This kind of design can be especially useful if you are working with a less even floor surface like tile, stone, or some types of hardwood since the tripod lamp will be more stable. It also goes without saying that the tripod lamp design just looks cool, especially with a gleaming copper finish. 

9. Tower Lamp 

Illuminate more with a smaller design.

This type of lamp is another great example of a design that tries to maximize practicality while preserving style as well. The aesthetic of this kind of lamp is quite unique and cool, and yet this lamp is also hugely usable since it is both a lamp and it illuminates shelving space. Even if you just use the shelves for little decorative knick-knacks you’re still using the space that would have been taken up by a small floor lamp for something more visually interesting. 

10. Edison Style 

Retro lamps shine bright and look good doing it.

This design style has been around for quite a long time and is coming back into style in some parts of the world. It was once a common thing for bulbs and light fixtures to be styled as candles and candelabras as a nod to the fact that candles were once quite a in the vintage Edison style with prominent glowing filaments.

Nowadays this style is making a comeback with quite beautifully crafted bulbs and lamps that inject some personality into a space. 

11. Scandinavian Lamps

Scandinavian lamps work well in just about any space.

This kind of unique floor lamp can actually come in multiple different configurations including the ones we’ve already mentioned. What makes the Scandinavian lamp worth talking about in its own right is that much like so many other products from Scandinavia, this lamp is designed very much with the user in mind. 

This means that it not only features quality materials that are nice to look at and touch, but it also means that this product is a subtle combination of usability and style that is restrained in that quintessentially Scandinavian way. Plus these types of lights are just as at home in the bedroom as in the living room.