I'm back after the long weekend with a second installation of my Optimum Optimorum mini-series, which is highlighting "the best of the best" in home accessories available for purchase online. Today, I've got a roundup of my favorite table lamps. Lighting is an often ignored -- but incredibly important -- element of design and table lamps are a great way to create atmosphere in a room and provide specific task lighting for a small area. Table lamps are also an opportunity to go for broke and get a little crazy in terms of color, texture and shape. Just think of them as functional pieces of sculpture and really go for something that speaks to you and your style.
From top left:
1. Uma Lamp from Modern Dose ($185). Gorgeous green silk shade, modern squiggle detail (in matching green!) on a traditional base, and good price -- what's not to love here? By the way, Modern Dose has dozens of great lighting options. From ultra-modern to more traditional, the selection is truly unique. I had a lot of trouble picking my favorite in fact and this faux bois one comes in a close second.
2. Photographer's Lamp from Pottery Barn ($99). Of all the major home decor stores, I think Pottery Barn has the best lighting for the money and I have quite a few of their lamps in my own home. Right now, my favorite is their Photographer's lamp, which is a great iteration on the increasingly popular industrial trend that's been popping up in design this year. With its adjustable height and canister-style heads, this lamp is perfect task lighting for the office or bedside table.
3. Palladian Urn Table Lamp from Restoration Hardware ($351). Crystal lamps are a design staple: they go with everything, reflect light beautifully and add a touch of elegance and sophistication to any space. Restoration Hardware is a great place to go for high quality, moderately-priced crystal lamps and I like this Palladian Urn table lamp in particular for its modern take on a classical shape. This is definitely not your grandmother's crystal.
4. Allison Lamp from High Fashion Home ($549). HFH is a huge four-story home store here in Houston and only minutes from my house. It features a great collection of furniture and accessories and their lighting in particular is a lot of fun to browse. The Allison lamp is absolutely stunning in person -- the smoky greige glass base and silk shade are inject a huge dose of glamour into any room. Perfect for a living room or sultry master bedroom.
5. Geometric Lamp Base + Ribbon Shade from PB Teen ($19.99 and $35, respectively). I love PB Teen and Pottery Barn Kids for fun lighting and rugs that work equally well in an adult space as they do in a child's. The shapes of these lamps are dead-ringers for Jonathan Adler lamps, but at a fraction of the cost. I'd snap these babies up quickly before they're gone.
6. Kate Table Lamp from Circa Lighting ($336). But for Dave's moratorium on home purchases until we get into the new house, I'd be at the Circa Lighting store here in Houston in a heartbeat buying a pair of these for the new dining room. Ah well, you can bet I'll be there later this month when the house is done doing some serious damage with my Discover card.
7. Globe Lamp from West Elm ($228). What I love about this lamp is its incredible scale -- one of these babies stands over four feet high! Conventional wisdom is that a lamp shade should be no taller than the height of the base and yet somehow, this really works for me (perhaps it's the contrast between the cylindrical shade with the squat, rounded base). One of these on either side of a bed or sofa would make such a statement.
8. Cameo Lamp in Gray and Yellow from Burke Decor ($220). Burke Decor is another great online lighting source, especially if you're looking for something very modern and/or very unique. Cameo lamps have long been a popular lamp-style and I love how this one is updated in a very "of the moment" yellow and gray. A pair of these in your living room would definitely add a certain je ne sais quoi.
9. Retro Lamp in Brushed Nickel from Pillows and Throws ($250). A great MCM-style option, but updated in brushed nickel in lieu of brass. Of course, if you're looking for the real deal, eBay has tons of great original teak-and-metal (or teak-and-porcelain) options.
10. Perch Frida Desk Lamp from Velocity Art & Design ($300). For some reason, this goofy lamp makes me smile (and it comes in an array of colors besides mustard) and would be a nice way to incorporate color into a neutral space. With its burlap shade and beaker-shape, its also got a homemade quality that I sometimes find appealing.
Don't forget that the competition to win one of my favorite three design books is currently going on. To enter, simply leave a comment to this post filling us in on your favorite lamp(s). For more information on prizes and rules, click on over HERE.
