YOURHOME LIT UP
Floor lamp or wall sconce? Home lighting tips to go by
Lighting is one of the most important, but often overlooked, elements of a room’s design. Whether your room has overhead lights or, like my house, has no installed lighting whatsoever in most areas, adding lights can both brighten your experience and serve as a core part of your décor. When you’re looking to make a major lighting change, there are two primary options indoors: Floor lamps and wall-mounted lights. The latter is also commonly called wall sconces. There are also tabletop lamps, but those tend to be smaller and not necessarily meant for lighting an entire room, though they can be a fantastic addition to any lighting scheme. It can be difficult to know whether floor lamps or wall-mounted lights will work best for your specific needs. Here’s what you need to consider when deciding between floor lamps and wall-mounted lights.
The pros and cons of floor lamps
Why to choose a floor lamp
If ease of use and installation are musthaves, then floor lamps are the best choice for you. All you need to do is pick out the one you like, screw a few pieces together, and plug it in. Aha, let there be light.
There are a huge variety of styles available to fit your needs. Floor lamps are simple, versatile, and can be placed wherever you need a light, whether that’s against the wall or in the middle of the room.
For example, club floor lamps are your basic light with a large, simple shade around a lightbulb or two that sit in the corner.
Torchiere lamps are a bit taller, with conical shades that cast the light up toward the ceiling to diffuse it around the room.
Tree lamps have numerous bulbs that can often be adjusted to cast light in different directions, letting you illuminate different parts of
the room from one location.
There are also lamps with arcing arms, built-in shelving, or unique design or details that can really help to define or match the style of your room.
For something modern, the Floyd YLight offers an interesting look.
These lighting solutions can also easily move around if your needs change – place it over by the fireplace for a party and then move it back next to the couch when people go home.
Why to skip floor lamps
On the other hand, floor lamps need floor space, not surprisingly. If there’s a couch where you want the lamp, then you’re out of luck.
Some lights, like those with the bulbs at the end of a long, arching arm, are designed to overcome this limitation, but they still take up floor space.
In my home, with two 7-year-old boys and a 95-pound Labrador running around, we find our floor lamps can be something of a danger.
We’ve had more than one incident where a kid, a dog, or both crashed into or tripped over a lamp, damaging shades, ruining cords, or even breaking the lamp entirely.
The pros and cons of wall-mounted lights
Why lights
to choose wall-mounted
Wall-mounted lamps are aptly named. These affix to the wall, usually with some kind of mounting plate screwed into drywall anchors or studs.
Some need to be hardwired into your home’s existing electrical system by a professional, while others may simply plug into a regular outlet.
While there are many aesthetic styles of wall lamps and sconces, there are really two functional differences. Some are stationary on their mounting bracket, while others have the bulbs installed on a moveable arm of some kind.
Wall sconces also tend to come in a larger variety of sizes than floor lamps. Some smaller lights are meant to illuminate a small area, like a reading light beside a bed.
Others are large and cast a wider range of light, meant to brighten all or most of a room.
The major benefit of wall-mounted lights is that they’re up off of the floor – and you can mount as high as you need, above shelves, chairs, photos and art, couches, or any other furniture below.
There’s also no real danger of children or pets crashing into them (though my kids sure are giving it a go by jumping on and off the couch).
Finally, wall mounted lights can feel better integrated into the room than floor lamps, because they’re a permanent or semi-permanent fixture.
The biggest drawback of wallmounted lamps is the installation, as it takes some work (and a few tools) to set up. (Yes, this is the case even if you don’t need to hire an electrician to wire them in.)
My wife and I installed four wallmounted sconces in our living room and it took about two hours. Wall sconces also aren’t as versatile or mobile as floor lamps.
Once installed, these are fairly permanent fixtures, though you can retrace
your steps to remove them. However, that involves taking them down, repairing your wall, and possibly reinstalling them elsewhere in your house.
Finally, you’re limited to wall space exclusively. If you decide you need a light away from the wall for some reason, these types of lights simply aren’t an option.
So, which lighting style should you choose?
As with so many aesthetic decisions in your home, the answer to this really depends. First and foremost, consider your comfort with hanging something on the wall.
Most wall sconces are designed for average consumers to install them, and some even plug into an outlet, so it’s not difficult to do. But, if you’re not comfortable using a power drill, then stick to floor lamps.
After the basic installation question, it really comes down to a question of function and aesthetics.
We replaced the floor lamps in our living room with wall sconces because we were tired of the kids moving, bumping, and breaking the lights. We also really like the more permanent look of the mounted lights.
Finally, we were able to illuminate the other side of the room where we didn’t have a place to put a floor lamp due to the fireplace and shelves.
On the flip side, I have stuck with a floor lamp in my office because I have guitars and pictures hanging all over, which limits the available space for wall sconces.
As with so much of home design, different people and different rooms have different needs.
Often, a mix of floor, tabletop, and wall lights is going to provide both the illumination and the versatility that you need in your home.
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