The best lamp placements - tips to follow

When it comes to lighting, small changes can make a big difference to the mood and functionality of a space. Placing your lamps strategically can complement your home's design and the atmosphere and it's easier to do than you might think.

Vertical space can be used for more than storage.

Situating lamps on shelves, end tables, behind your TV, or even hanging from the walls is a great way to light your space without using up precious floor real estate. It's also good for your eye health if you watch TV at night.

When you place a lamp — or even an LED strip — behind your TV, it helps reduce eye strain. That means you can watch movies or play video games for longer periods of time without dealing with things like headaches and achy eyes.

Placing a swing-arm floor lamp next to seating in your living room is a great way to give yourself options in any area you need it. Adding a lamp with adjustable height allows you to target your lighting when it's needed.

For example, if you're wanting to light up the entire room, you can simply push the lamp's height up and it’ll create the effect of overhead lighting. If you need task light in a specific area, though, like over a chair when you're curling up to read a book in, then you can lower the lamp to suit your needs.

Outlet placement is also essential here and is something to consider when you're placing the floor lamp. Be sure to not run cords across your walking areas. Instead, opt to run cords under furniture or against walls to keep them hidden.

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With the right position, the lamp can brighten up the darkest corners of your space even when it's turned off. A great tip is to grab a solid colour lamp base and then pair it with a brightly-patterned lamp shade for high contrast. You can also pull those colours into other parts of your space, like throw pillows and blankets, for a cohesive look or you can add different colours to brighten up the rest of the room.

Either way, placing a lamp or other light fixture in the dark parts of your home can help the space as a whole.

If you're limited on space or don't have a table to place in the corners, you can opt for a floating shelf with a small lamp placed on top, creating a mobile wall light.

If there's a certain piece of art or another special home decor item that you'd like to highlight, a lamp can act as a great accent light. A table lamp centred under art with an open lampshade is perfect for throwing light right up to the piece and so is a floor lamp pointed towards the art.

If you don't have specific art, you can always make the lamps the art. Specially designed bases or objects that have been made into lamps are a great way to draw attention to the lighting in your room. You can also get creative with a lampshade that casts differently-shaped shadows onto the wall or ceiling overhead.

For added depth, try mixing the materials around your space. If you have a lot of gold, try breaking it up with a silver or wooden lamp. If your space is earthy, you can bring in metal elements to create an urban jungle inside your home.

It can be fun to mix things up, but remember to make it all cohesive to avoid clashing. Too many design elements in a space can overwhelm the eye, while too little can make it feel empty and bland.

The same can be said for lighting. If you place too much inside the room, then it's going to be too bright. While bright lighting sources are appropriate for specific rooms (like the kitchen or your office) and at certain times of the day, you're not always going to want that.

Layering in different colours, lamps, and materials can give you the opportunity to play around with the ambience you want to set whenever you walk into the room.

Whether you're going for soft ambient lighting in one space or fun colours in another, using alternatives are a great way to avoid the stark white lighting that overhead ceiling lights tend to provide. An easy way to achieve this: get bulbs that you can change the colours and colour temperatures of.

A lot of lamps come with different dimmer options to choose from, or you can install your lamps on a dimmer switch. If you want to play around with colours like blue, orange, red, or even purple, though, there are light bulbs and led lights that can achieve these variations. Smart bulbs can even connect to your phone via an app to achieve this giving you great versatility.

The more options you have to customise your lighting, the easier it's going to be to make your space whatever you want, whenever you want.

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No matter the room in your home, finding the best lamp placement can help bring the space together. Whether it's a statement floor lamp or a subtle desk lamp, ensuring you have light in all the right spots is an inexpensive way to bring more style and functionality into your space.

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