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Aim the dome at the wall, not at the screen.
Workspace
Graphite Floor Lamp
$150–$240
Bench score 8.2 / 10
A matte graphite floor lamp with a deep dome shade. It lights the wall beside the desk instead of glaring into the panel.
| Form | Floor task lamp |
|---|---|
| Finish | Matte graphite |
| Shade | Deep dome, hinged |
| Placement | Behind and beside the desk |
| Not for | Clamping onto a crowded monitor arm |
Keep
- The light pool is wide and low-drama.
- The hinge holds an angle without a tool.
- It frees the desktop from another stem.
Skip if
- It needs floor space beside the chair.
- A bare bulb in that dome will glare. Use a diffused lamp.
The lamp is a single graphite line and a heavy dome, photographed against a blank wall because that is how it should be judged: by the light it throws, not by a lifestyle cluttered around it. In the studio we stand it behind the editor’s left shoulder. The dome faces the wall. The screen stays dark around the edges, which is what you want.
A small shade on the desk, the kind sitting behind the display in our trestle-desk photograph, is easier to buy and worse to live with once the top is full. This floor lamp costs a square of floor and returns the desktop.
Bulb and aim
Use a warm diffused bulb. A clear decorative bulb in a dome this deep is a spotlight, and spotlights belong in shops. Aim past the display. If you can see the bulb in the corner of your eye, turn the hinge. The joint is the product.