Since the pandemic, improvised home offices have been put through their paces. When your work-from-home setup is ready to be upgraded, the right desk lamp is a good place to start.
In addition to providing light exactly where it is needed, "work light is becoming one of the things that create your small home office," said Clive Wilkinson, a Los Angeles-based architect who designs corporate spaces for companies like Microsoft and Intuit designed. "It's a spatial thing – it lights up an area you work in and sets it apart from the rest of the house."
The best desk lamps used to have long articulated arms that were highly adjustable, Wilkinson said, but now that most people's work requires less paper, something more compact is usually enough.
"You can have a light source that's only 18 inches from your desk," he said. "That makes the new options a lot more interesting."
Thin work lamp
Adjustable LED lamp with cast iron ball joint base
From $ 475 at Juniper: 347-799-2915 or juniper-design.com
LED focus lamp with USB connection
Desk lamp with collecting base and charging connector by Jonas Wagell
$ 195 at Design Within Reach: 800-944-2233 or dwr.com
Lola small desk lamp
Antique brass shade lamp designed by Ian K. Fowler
$ 299 at Circa Lighting: 877-762-2323 or circalighting.com
Buddy table lamp
3D printed adjustable lamp from Mona Sharma
$ 148 at Gantri: gantri.com
Cap table lamp
Lamp with adjustable shade by KaschKasch for Normann Copenhagen
$ 405 at Horne: 877-404-6763 or shophorne.com
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