Floor Lamps have always been an excellent way to add light to any room. With a wide variety of floor lamps available in the market, it is important to choose one that compliments the style of your room. Lamps with different heights serve different purposes.
In this guide, we will discuss how and why the floor lamp’s height influences your room and what other factors must be considered before buying your next floor lamp.
4 Considerations You Should Consider for a Right Height Floor Lamp
It is important to take into account the room size, room scale, lamp use as well as aesthetics of the remaining objects before choosing a floor lamp for your room.
1. Room Size
Taller lamps of 6-8 feet look best in larger rooms with a size of 250 square feet or more as the light from these lamps can then be evenly distributed across the room.
On the other hand, shorter floor lamps of 4-5 feet must be used in rooms with a size of 150 square feet or less.
2. Room Scale
The scale of the room, especially the height of the ceiling, must always be considered before choosing a floor lamp for your room.
Rooms with a ceiling height of 12 ft or more can go for taller lamps in 6-8. On the other hand, shorter lamps of 4-5 must be used in rooms with a ceiling height of 9 ft or less.
3. Intended Use
Floor lamps can be used for both task lighting as well as ambient lighting.
Taller floor lamps with a height of 70 inches or more can be kept in the corner of a room to provide adequate light to the entire room.
On the other hand, if the floor lamps are to be used next to a sofa or arm chair as a reading light, floor lamps with a height of about 60 inches, when measured from the ground, would be perfect.
4. Size of other objects
It is important to create visual harmony and balance between the various objects placed in a room.
As a rule, the floor lamp should be slightly taller than the tallest piece of furniture in the room.
How Tall Should a Floor Lamp Be?
Floor lamps typically range from 4 feet (48 inches) in height to about 8 feet (96 inches) in height. The most commonly used floor lamps in the market are between 58 inches and 64 inches in height.
No two floor lamps are the same and floor lamps with different heights serve different purposes.
As a general rule of thumb, the bottom of the lamp shade should not be lower than the eye level of a seated person. It can be at or above the eye level.
Though you should follow these guidelines, floor lamps that are taller or shorter by a few inches can also be used as long as they fit well with the ambiance of the room.
In order to ensure balance and proportion, the heights of other objects in the room must also be considered.
An easy way to do this would be to measure the height of the tallest piece of furniture in the room and ensure that the height of the floor lamp is slightly more than that measurement.
In that way, the floor lamp will not only light up your space but will also be extremely pleasing to the eyes at all times.
How Do You Size a Floor Lamp?
A floor lamp with the right measurements is necessary to pull together the look of your lamp. Hence, it is important to get your measurements rights while choosing your next floor lamp.
The lampshade of a floor lamp has 3 main measurements that need to be accounted for.
- “Top” denotes the diameter or width of the top of the lampshade.
- “Bottom” denotes the diameter or width of the bottom of the lampshade.
- “Slant” is the length of the side of the lampshade.
Using a measuring tape or a ruler, these measurements must be taken from edge to edge and as close to the center as possible.
For a balanced look, a floor lamp should have a lamp shade that is approximately 1/3rd of the height of the lamp.
The lamp shade’s top diameter should be at least as wide as the base of the lamp.
How to Make a Floor Lamp Taller?
The process of making your floor lamp taller is a simple one that requires a few household items and some creativity. The goal is to make sure your floor lamp looks taller without losing its elegance and functionality.
The first move for this would be to inspect your surroundings and think of different objects that can be used for this purpose.
Method 1: Replace with a Tall Base
The simple and obvious way to do so would be to replace the old base with a taller base.
This is simple and easy to execute. Extension poles can also be added to make your floor lamp look taller.
Method 2: Use Props
Another way of doing this would be to use props such as stools and crates for this. These boxes and crates can be made of both plastic and wood depending on the material used by the floor lamps.
Stacks of books can also be placed under floor lamps to make them look taller.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Should all floor lamps in a room be the same height?
Floor lamps are often used in combinations with each other to add light and functionality to any room they are a part of.
All the lamps in a room must share similar heights, aesthetic fine points, and also complement each other.
It is important to ensure that all the lamps in a room are within the same height range and do not overwhelm one another.
This method works perfectly for large sized rooms.
Awkward and noticeable size differences can be avoided by following these tips.
2. What is the best height for a floor lamp?
Floor lamps are available in different shapes and sizes. The height of the floor lamp chosen should match the environment it is kept in.
In general, floor lamps with a height of 58 to 64 inches are considered the best in terms of height.
This is because, floor lamps with this height would go well in most room settings.
3. How tall should a floor lamp be next to a chair?
Floor lamps have multiple utilities and they are often used as reading lights kept next to chairs.
As a general rule of thumb, when the floor lamps are used as reading lamps, the bottom of the shade should be at around eye level.
This would mean that the floor lamps should be around 60 inches high when measured from the floor.
It should also be ensured that the light comes from the side or over the shoulder.
Do not place the floor lamp right in front of you as that would create a glare off your page.
Floor lamps with this height would be the most ideal when used for reading and other intricate tasks kept next to a chair.
