#Desk lamps portable#
#Desk lamps plus#

More design details, according to Lee, include the “elegant concave base platform that holds various tchotchkes or electronics” (and doubles as a wireless charging base). Says Lee, “The Pixo has a friendly, playful silhouette that blends high-tech LED and USB-charging capability and is surprisingly warm in lighting temperature.” Its head rotates 360 degrees, and its stem rotates and tilts 180 degrees so you can direct light exactly where you want it.

#Desk lamps plus#

The Pixo Plus table lamp from Pablo Designs received multiple mentions, including from interior designer Kendall Wilkinson and Angie Lee, a partner and design director of interiors at FXCollaborative. Ming Thompson, a co-founder of architecture and interior-design firm Atelier Cho Thompson, is a fan of Anglepoise’s Type 75 lamp, noting it strikes “a balance between simple, modern forms and exposed mechanical elements,” and would be at home on both “an architect’s drafting table and a work-from-home desk.” With a spring-loaded articulated arm and adjustable shade, it comes with a CFL bulb and is available in several jaunty colors, including yellow ochre and Saxon blue. “Both are elegant in their own right, with a classic silhouette and form that they’ve kept fresh with new finishes and colors,” says Brian Wilson, a co-founder of Pair, an office-furniture company based in San Francisco. As architect Mei Lun Xue puts it, “Anglepoise lamps are super-classic and look good everywhere.” The two most popular models are the Original 1227 Task light designed in 1935, and the more modern Type 75, which is a bit more streamlined and received slightly more nods from our panelists. (Generally speaking, an LED light is more energy efficient than a filament bulb and will last a lot longer.) For some folks, the more important consideration may be whether the lights come with a dimmer function, which allows you to adjust the brightness of the light, so I called that out where relevant.īritish company Anglepoise has been making task lamps since the 1930s, and its various styles are the runaway favorite among the architects and interior designers we spoke to.

Light: Most desk lamps come with an LED light, an incandescent bulb, or a CFL bulb, and depending on the lamp itself, bulbs can be swapped out depending on your preference. Do you want something that fades into the background or a lamp that’s more of an objet that adds a bit of color or style to your desk? Depending on your preference, consider a lamp’s aesthetic in relation to your work space. Lamps with articulating parts will, by nature, have a more industrial look, while more stationary ones will emphasize style over functionality. Whether you require a fully adjustable light or one that’s less technical, the lamp should be easy to operate.ĭesign: Related to adjustability is the lamp’s design and how it looks. Some allow you to pivot or rotate the head of the lamp, while others allow you to also adjust the light fixture’s neck (or arm) by way of articulated joints or a telescoping arm.

#Desk lamps portable#

Read on for their picks, which come at a range of prices and include a desk lamp for just about everyone.īest overall | Best with clamp mount | Best (less-expensive) clamp lamp | Best affordable industrial | Best affordable retro-style | Best adjustable with USB and wireless charging | Best with weight-balanced adjustable arm | Best with pleated shade | Best portable | Best 3-D-printed | Best colorfulĪdjustability: A good desk lamp should be adjustable, allowing you to direct light to suit your needs. Here, we consulted architects, interior designers, and other folks who value form as much as function. When seeking your own perfect lighting setup, there are some key elements you want to look for, like adjustability, design, and light source. It’s why certain architects swear by an industrial-style task lamp that hasn’t changed since the ’30s, while other design-world people might prefer sleeker, dimmable 3-D-printed options they can tote from room to room. How it looks is also an important consideration to make, and largely one that’s subjective. A desk lamp’s job is to illuminate your work space in the most efficient way possible.