Just as jewelry accessorizes a dress, decorative floor lamps accessorize a room and create a mood. More than beauty, however, effective lighting adds safety, comfort and drama. Use illumination from three sources of light: general (or ambient), task and accent.
Place floor lamps in your home and office to avoid eyestrain. Use at least 100 watts of incandescent or 40 watts of fluorescent task lighting for reading, writing and computer work. Supplement floor lamps with uplights and wall washers that spotlight plants or bookshelves.
Experiment with different bulbs to achieve the brightness, warmth of tone or clarity of light you're looking for. Warm incandescent, color-true halogen or super-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs are new on the market. The final type lasts up to 10 times longer but uses only one-third of the energy--for example, a 25-watt compact fluorescent is as bright as a 75-watt incandescent bulb. Use floor lamps for entertaining and watching television instead of a harsh, single ceiling light. The height of floor lamps is flexible--they can beam light up to add a soft glow to a dim corner or focus down with a shade for reading.
