How to Decorate With Desk Lamps

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Buying desk or study lamps can be almost as personal as choosing a pair of glasses. This is because of all of the lamps that you could possibly purchase these lamps must be easy on your eyes. The type of study or desk lamp that is best for you is probably dependent on your reading and study habits are and also how good your eyes are.

For example a lot of the study lamps and desk lamps that are out there on the market come with halogen bulbs in them. However halogen bulbs, which are the brightest bulbs you can buy are not the ideal type of light for everybody. For one thing halogen bulbs are so bright that they can cause contrast and glare to be a problem when you are studying print. This can be very fatiguing on the eyes and even cause you to see spots of green and red if the glare on the page has enough contrast.

If you find that the glare of halogen bulbs is hard on your eyes then there are thousands of study and desk lamps on the market that take ordinary incandescent bulbs, or energy saving bulbs. If you like a really bright light when you study but don’t like halogen bulbs, you can also try using a full spectrum light bulb in your desk or study lamp. That way you get the brightness of daylight without the headaches that can be caused by halogen light.

Desk and study lamps that use regular bulbs come in a variety styles. The design element that seems to mostly define a study lamp or desk lamp is the bendable neck that is usually made out of plastic or metal. This helps you focus the light where you need it most, however unlike halogen lamps, these more old fashioned lamps also have a bit of a soft glow that helps light up the rest of the room.

Not all desk lamps or study lamps have bendable necks. One very classic style that can be found in almost every lighting or hardware store has a squat, curved neck. Usually an oblong shade, made of brass or green glass, sheds light on the surface of the desk. This type of study or desk lamp, which reminds one of something that belongs in crime writer Raymond Chandler’s office, also looks good on top of a piano and poised so that it lights the piano keys.

How to Decorate With Antique Lamps

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There is nothing that adds more elegance and automatic ambience to a room’s décor than an antique lamp. They are fantastic objects to have in a dining room or living room because they not only make a personal statement about you but because they are great conversation pieces. There is nothing like a 1930s big chandelier with large drops of ice hanging from it to help break the ice with your dinner companions.

One of the most interesting antique lamp fads that is around lately is the passion for chandeliers made out of deer antlers. These date back as far as the 1890s and straight through to today. They were standard lamp fixtures in medieval times in Europe (as they do have a bit of a pagan flair to them) but they are also considered to be part of American and Canadian furniture kitsch.

However keep in mind that when you buy one of these deer chandeliers that it is not always that politically correct. Some unscrupulous dealers are selling this type of thing on eBay as being made out of found antlers when what they have done is take the antlers off of live deer. This is a big ecological no-no.

Yet another very popular type of kitsch antique lamp that is being manufactured right now is the “Sexy Leg Lamp.” This is the lamp that was featured in the movie “The Christmas Story.” It consists of a plastic molded ladies leg wearing a black high heel and it is topped with a shade that looks like a burlesque dancer’s skirt. If you have one of these in your home, your guests are sure to point out that “you have the same lamp that Ralphie’s Dad does.”

A kind of lamp that is getting harder and harder to find but used to be a common sight on top of television sets all over the world is the classic ceramic black panther that is topped with a shade made from paper pressed with glitter.

Perhaps the most popular of the antique lamps are the lava lamps. It is getting harder and harder nowadays to find a real lava lamp from the fifties or sixties. The knock offs that can be had for twenty dollars and be bought in a hardware store are simply not as nice as the ones you find on eBay or in antique shops. This is because the newer replicas tend to be a lot smaller then the original lava lamps that were sometimes tall enough to reach your knee. They also often contain glitter instead of the “lava” and their design is not as nice. If you manage to find a real lava lamp from the fifties then the design from the Atomic Age is certain to become a conversation starter.