portable lamps

Portable lamps - torchieres and other floor lamps, but also table and desk lamps - can be key elements of residential lighting design.

Uses

The fact that portable lamps are…“portable”… makes them a very versatile solution and often the easiest way of getting accent light or task lighting (in the case of table and desk lamps), or the easiest way to increase lighting in a specific area of the house, supplementing low levels of central illumination.

Directional or ambient lighting

Portable lamps can be directional: they can send a cone of the light over a specific area or object (table, desk, counter, reading area…). These portable lights are mostly used for accent and task lighting.

But many table and floor lamps have a broader lighting area: their light can be sent out into the whole room or into a large area, making them a piece of general lighting.

Advantages

Portable lamps are cheap and flexible solutions - and also decorative lighting elements.

A single fixture can combine task, accent and general lighting, and we can choose from a huge variety of shades (with very different aesthetic impacts) and put the light just where it is needed – close to a task area, for instance. All that without the usual requirements of other types of lighting: drilling holes, wiring work, etc.

Portables combine well with modern lighting design. They may replace fixed types (recessed, track...) of accent lighting or task lighting, namely in the periphery of a room.

They can also be a crucial element to supplement or replace ambient lighting: portables can be used to replace general lighting during long periods (associated to reading, dinning, TV watching…), when a cozy and selective lighting is more important than the lighting of the whole room.

Floor

Floor portable lamps can be more than just decorative elements.

See: Portable Floor Lamps

Desk and table

Desk and table portables can be very decorative, easy to implement and very functional as task lighting.

See: Portable Desk and Table Lamps

Disadvantages

Lighting a kitchen counter with table lamps would be unthinkable; they would be too obstructive. Similarly, in the case of tables and desks, or in residential traffic areas, portable lights can be obstructive and compete for space...

Another disadvantage of portable lights is the rather messy presence of the power cord (do never consider using power cords under rugs; they are, in such cases, a potential cause of fire hazards)…