Lighting & Care Guide

Choosing the right lamp, and looking after what you buy

Two things decide whether a lamp works in your room: what the light is for, and what bulb you put in it. Neither is printed on the box. Here is what we would tell you in a shop.

Part 1 — Accent light or reading light?

This is the distinction that matters most, and the one that causes the most returns.

• Accent lighting is there to be looked at. A stained glass piece rated to 7 watts puts out a glow, not a beam. It belongs on a shelf, a windowsill or a hall table, and it is the lamp you leave on in the evening after the overheads go off. It will not light a book, and it is not meant to.
• Task lighting is there to work by. A lamp taking a 60 or 100 watt bulb, standing 22 to 32 inches tall, throws light across a table or a bed. This is the one that goes on a nightstand if you read there.

Check the wattage on the product page before you choose. It is the honest answer to "how bright is it?" — and we print it on every lamp we sell.

Part 2 — Which bulb to buy

Most decorative lamps ship without a bulb, ours included. That is deliberate: the bulb decides the colour of the light, and that is a matter of taste rather than something to be chosen for you.

• Colour temperature. Look for 2700K for the warm, yellowish light people associate with lamps and evenings. 3000K is slightly crisper. Anything at 4000K or above reads as office lighting and will make a warm room feel clinical.
• Never exceed the maximum wattage printed on the socket and on our product page. A shade and a socket are rated for the heat they can take, and going over it is a genuine fire risk, not a technicality.
• LED equivalents. A 9-watt LED gives roughly the light of a 60-watt incandescent while running cool. If a lamp is rated to 60 watts, a 9–12 watt LED is comfortably within it and will last years.
• Three-way bulbs only give three brightness levels in a three-way socket. Where a lamp has one, we say so on the page.
• Dimmers. If you plan to use one, buy a bulb marked dimmable. A standard LED in a dimmer circuit will flicker or buzz.

Part 3 — Placing a lamp

1. Height first. Sitting beside a bed, the bottom of the shade should sit roughly at eye level when you are propped up reading — usually a lamp of 24 to 32 inches on a standard nightstand. Too tall and the bulb glares straight at you.
2. Pairs read as deliberate. Two matching lamps on two nightstands, or on either end of a console, look considered in a way a single lamp does not. It is the cheapest way to make a room look finished.
3. Cords. Check the cord length against the distance to your outlet before you buy. Running a lamp on an extension across a walkway is how lamps get pulled off tables.
4. Small lamps need a small surface. A 13-inch accent lamp on a wide console disappears. Put it on a shelf, a stack of books, or a narrow side table where its scale reads correctly.

Part 4 — Looking after glass and metal

• Dust stained and cut glass with a dry, soft cloth. Household glass cleaner can seep into the seams between panels and dull the solder over time.
• Unplug before cleaning anything, and never let liquid near a socket.
• Resin and painted metal bases wipe clean with a barely damp cloth. Abrasive cleaners take the finish off.
• Antique-style finishes vary slightly from piece to piece and can settle further with age. That is the finish behaving as intended, not a fault.

Part 5 — Bedding

• Measure your mattress depth before choosing a fitted sheet. With a topper, a standard sheet often will not clear the corners. Our sheet sets state the maximum depth they fit.
• Cotton and chenille soften with washing rather than wearing out. Wash warm, tumble low, and skip fabric softener — it coats the fibres and flattens the texture that you paid for.
• Tufted chenille should be washed on its own for the first cycle or two. Loose fibre comes away early and settles afterwards.
• Shams are usually sold separately on bedspreads. Where that applies, we print it on the product page — check before assuming a set.

Safety

• Stay within the stated maximum wattage, always.
• Keep shades clear of curtains and bedding.
• Do not run a lamp with a damaged cord or a loose socket — contact us instead.
• Glass pieces are breakable. Keep small accent lamps back from the edge of a surface where children or pets pass.

Not sure which lamp suits your room? Get in touch — tell us the room, the surface it will sit on, and whether you need to read by it, and we will point you to the right one.