The Best Bedside Lamps

This is a luscious, content-full site, not a catablog. I strongly believe you don't have to go buy a lot of new things in pursuit of superior sleep. But I am delighted finally to feature bedside lamps, because I get a lot of questions about them, and, truly, a good bedside lamp is hard to find. It's got to be ample, but not too large — you want nightstand real estate for your books — and pleasing to look at. After all, it's the last thing you lay your eyes on at night.

Here are some lamps I'm loving:

The Flowerpot Lamp, blooming right out of 1969, when Verner Panton designed it. It's so absolutely cheerful, it will light your way through all those dreary cases you're reading for the bar exam. Not that that's good bedside reading... but when you make partner, you won't feel bad about having paid $367 for it at the current sad exchange rate. It's also quite heavy and substantial despite its whimsical appearance.

The Lytegem Lamp: similar in mood to the Flowerpot, but can be wall mounted. If you have a toddler, or you're very nearsighted and tend to flail madly for your glasses, or you're just clumsy, or, why am I going on about this, if you like an absolutely clear surface next to your bed — which in itself is a sleep aid — this one is perfect, and at $125, a good value. Well, nearly perfect: you should switch out the dark cord for a white one if you have a white wall.

Self-assembly: Find a base you like, for instance this slim, handsome model from The Conran Shop (about $60). Toss the boring shade. Trust your imagination. Have a quick hunt on eBay, or find a shade in an online shop. Remember the one you saw in the window of that antiques shop last weekend? (This shade is one of a pair from an East Village thrift shop.)

Tube Top: A good choice if, again, you have that toddler, who might knock the lamp down; it's lightweight acrylic and indestructible. Brooklyn designer Peter Stathis designed Tube Top after a moment of inspiration looking at a pair of kitchen tongs. Nice that it has a dimmer switch, too. I like proportions of the medium size ($198, 21" high) more than the small ($98), but the small does come in all those great colors, like sun yellow. Actually, the clear version is most attractive. I'm sure the reason you don't see it in shelter magazines is because it doesn't photograph well.

Ballroom Glitz: I've about had it with Palm Beach (not really, but you have to admit it's overexposed) and post-post-Victorian eclecticism (since the world stole it from my mother, who invented it in 1963), but I am awfully fond of this lamp, which takes itself seriously, but not too, and has an airy little price ($88). If it starts to look silly, just put it on Craigslist, darling!

Eastwood Short Tree Trunk Table Lamp: I often find myself wondering why birds, deer, and antlers continue to persist in interiors now. At any rate, I realize I'm not ready to give up my woodlands obsession. This lamp ($350) has wit and dignity both, and it will still look good when all those cheap antler-y things don't anymore. Which is, you know, now.

Anglepoise: You can't afford a refurbished 1940 George Carwardine original, like this one from Ruby Beets? Look into the Counterpoise ($329) at Restoration Hardware. The wall-mounted version ($499) is nifty.

Signal Lamp: If you elect not to get an Anglepoise on account of the fact that the Soft Boys wanted to be one in 1976, for crying out loud, content yourself with this shy yet saucy French number from Conran's (unfortunately the price in British pounds is too depressing to convert — I'm just heading to bed).

Comments

[Ace Lamps]

Brilliant looking lamps, I especially like the modern looking tube top lamp, would look very good in a modern city apartment