The Best Dimmable Floor Lamps for Better Lighting at Home

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Whether you live in a small apartment or a huge house, great lighting is always going to be important. Even if your space or recording studio gets great natural light, you’ll still need it when the sun goes down, and if your place gets little sunlight, don’t worry – some new dimmable floor lamps can even simulate sunlight and keep your circadian rhythms on track for a healthy sleep schedule.

These go beyond just being a stylish addition to your place, they serve a functional, practical purpose too. Having the power to dim the room’s lighting means you can instantly create the right atmosphere, bringing it down for things like movies, up to a comfortable middle level for a recording session in your home studio, and cranked high for having friends over or for reading.

Here’s what you need to know before choosing your next dimmable floor lamp.

What Are the Best Dimmable Floor Lamps?

Many of the latest dimmable floor lamps available online allow you to adjust the color temperature and brightness you want in your living space, which is especially useful for everything from watching movies to meditating. Read on for our guide on other features to look for in the best dimmable floor lamps.

Ambient or Task Lighting: Task lighting, as the name suggests, is for focusing on a specific task using brightness, contrast, and higher visibility. Ambient lighting offers an overall glow for your living space. We’ve included both options in our guide.

Shade: Lampshades aren’t only for decoration, they serve a purpose too. Wider ones, usually made of linen or cotton, are going to let larger amounts of light through, and are ideal for dark rooms.

Bulbs: Traditional lightbulbs have evolved significantly in the past few decades, becoming more energy efficient and longer-lasting, often up to 10 or 20 years. But an LED bulb has even more benefits, like giving off near-zero levels of heat, wiping away any worries of fire damage. It’s a good idea to double-check the types of bulbs your floor lamp calls for before purchasing bulbs.

Base & Build: Though the light emitting from the top is going to be what ultimately matters, make sure the lamp has a steady base and stable tower too. A lamp that’s too top-heavy and constantly tips over isn’t just annoying, but can also damage, dent or even break bulbs. Likewise, if you’re putting these into a tight corner, a bulky base and wide tower might be tough to squeeze into the space.

Extras: A remote for your floor lamp can be really helpful for making lighting adjustments not just from across the room, but even while sitting under it when you’re just out of reach. Same with the added convenience of having an outlet or USB port inside the base or tower. Some lamps can remember designated settings for different times, include a timer for bedtime shutdown, and even include an accompanying smartphone app, which means setting your preferred lighting can be done from anywhere.