Floor Lamp Second Best Ambient Lighting Option
Bruce Channers
A floor lamp is one of the most useful and practical light
fixtures available to a person. In dorm rooms or other cheesy
apartments, it is not rare to find a ceiling fixture missing.
The additional cost of running wiring in the ceiling simply
made fixtures an impractical luxury. Apparently it was figured
that the people buying the place could buy lamps or pay an
electrician to run wiring in their ceiling. Well, table lamps
never seem to provide enough ambient lighting and electricians
are simply too expensive. The solution—a classy floor lamp of
course!
A floor lamp will never be able to provide the level of ambient
lighting that a ceiling fixture can produce. Ambient lighting is
the general illumination that is present in a room. Technically
speaking, a table lamp does provide ambient lighting but it
generally illuminates one area very well while casting shadows
over the rest of the room. Therefore, a table lamp is terrible
for ambient lighting. Unless you are prepared to place floor
lamps in every corner of the room and a couple in the center as
well, a floor lamp is a better choice for ambient lighting.
When compared to a table lamp, a floor lamp has superior
elevation (unless of course the table lamp is being propped up
by 10 phone books or something!). The reason why a ceiling
fixture or chandelier is so superior when it comes to ambient
lighting is because it is centrally located above everything
else in the room. Light is cast downward onto the room which is
why a ceiling fixture illuminates everything so well.
Light from a table lamp is also cast downward—onto an end table
or something! Much of the light is lost on the table’s surface.
A floor lamp, however, is elevated above a table lamp and can
therefore cast its light downward onto objects other than an
end table. However, because a floor lamp is neither centrally
located or as high off the ground, it does not provide the same
level of ambient lighting as a ceiling fixture might. However,
it is certainly superior to a dorm room or apartment
illuminated exclusively with table lamps all over the place.
Placement of a floor lamp will have a lot to do with the level
of ambient lighting it produces. If placed in an obscure corner
so that it only illuminates the chair where you like to do your
reading, then a floor lamp will not provide much ambient
lighting in that situation. But, when a floor lamp is placed
either behind a centrally located couch or even one on each
side, the level of ambient lighting improves dramatically.
Remember, the best ambient lighting will come from the center
and above a room. A floor lamp is only so tall but the closer
you place it to the center of the room, the more effective will
be its ambient lighting.
Of course, even in homes with ceiling fixtures, a floor lamp is
a great way to add task lighting to a room while improving its
ambient lighting as well. The height of a floor lamp and its
ability to sit behind objects like chairs and still provide
overhead illumination make them far superior to table lamps. If
you are in need of some ambient lighting in your home, then a
floor lamp is certainly the best choice for you!
About The Author: Floor Lamp Info is an information site that
contains links, a directory and other Floor Lamp Information.
It can be found at:
http://www.floorlampinfo.com
See Also:
Index of All
Info on Home: Electrical & Plumbing
Search our site for any Home, Lawn or Garden Info
