Shedding the right light on buying a new lamp

When it comes time to buy a new lamp, it can be hard to know where to begin. What style? What height? How many lamps or fixtures and what type?

It's easy to find lamps in a wide selection of colors and motifs that will co-ordinate with your room decor. The difficulty lies in finding the right lamp to suit the function.

What will it be doing for you? Will it be used for task lighting - for example reading or sewing? Or will it be used for ambient lighting - creating a soft, overall atmosphere in the room?

Maybe the lamp's sole purpose will be to create drama. Lamps chosen to create ambience are primarily chosen with style in mind: what looks best, what creates the best effect.

Lamps chosen primarily for task lighting, however, should be selected with a few basic principles in mind:

1.Decide where the lamp will he placed. The reason for this is that, ideally, if the lamp is to be placed beside the reader, the bottom of the lamp shade should be at eye level or slightly below. Lamps placed behind the reader should be high enough so that a shadow of the reader's head and shoulders doesn't fall on the reading material.

2. Decide whether the lamp needs to he flexible: Will the same person, or a person of the same height, always sit there? If not then the lamp should be flexible, vertically as well as horizontally.

3. Decide on what type of shade you'll need. Parchment shades are opaque and will send most of the light down onto the table. Little light will be thrown into the room.

An adjustable light such as a swing arm lamp, usually has a close-fitting metal shade that throws light to a specific area. These types of lamps provide valuable focused light to the task at hand.

If your favorite spot for reading is in bed, you'll need a strong table lamp or flexible arm fixed to the wall. The same shade height guidelines that apply to armchair and sofa-side lamps apply to bedside lamps.

How do you figure out what the proper height is for you? Once you've decided where your table lamp will be placed, sit in the chair or bed adjacent to the chosen location. With a measuring tape, measure from the table top to your eye level. This measurement tells you what height is required from the base of the lamp to the bottom of the shade.

Don't make your next task-oriented lamp a haphazard choice. Make it a knowledgeable one. Your eyes will thank you for it.