Enlightened Choices: Unveiling the Best Floor Lamps for Your Lifestyle
By Kanebridge News
Fri, May 26, 2023 11:35am
3 min
3 min
It’s that time of year when getting off the lounge seems like way too much effort. Instead, a comfortable chair, a good book and a warm beverage beckon. Making sure your living space works, whether you’re looking to create zones within an open plan, or you want to read without straining your eyes, depends on your choice of lighting. As well as being up to the task to create mood and function, these floor lamps make a style statement. We’ve selected the best, from classic designs to timeless contemporary to ensure your living areas are inviting, as well as inspiring.
Tote Standing Lamp
The classic shapes of the Tote standing lamp by Tide Design have been given a clean, contemporary feel with the added warmth of natural timber. It’s the perfect shape for those who love tradition with a side of biophilic design. Available in three timbers, from $1,430 from Workshopped.
Foscarini Twiggy floor lamp
Made from coated fibreglass , coated metal and aluminium, the impossibly flexible Foscarini Twiggy floor lamp is ideal over lounges and cosy corners. From a design perspective, it breaks up strong lineal shapes associated with modular sofas. Plus, it creates pools of light perfect for zoning, $2,885 from Space.
Cliff 02 Lamp
The tripod base of the brass and black matte Cliff 02 lamp from the Lambert & Fils workshop adds extra stability with a contemporary edge. A study in minimalism, the brass finishes deliver a jewel-like finish to the supporting rods, $4,380 from Living Edge.
Copenhagen SC14 Lamp
Perfect for creating visual warmth on cold nights, the Copenhagen SC14 lamp by &Tradition emits a soft ambient light with the control of a dimmer option and opal glass shade, $2,448 from Cult
Alma Lamp
US designer Kelly Wearstler’s stunning Alma lamp has the solidity of a white marble base and the allure of an antique burnished brass base. The cylindrical head of the pharmacy floor lamp can rotate 20 degrees left or right to best direct light, $2,079 from Montauk Lighting.
Tonone Bolt 2 Arm Floor Lamp
This lamp is right at home in any room in the house, from the living room to the kids’ bedrooms. Adjustable at two points to allow a change of height, as well as direction, it has a steel base and rods with an aluminium shade. It’s also available in a range of colours suitable for contemporary or traditional interiors, $1100 from Mondopiero.
What light is best for living room lamps?
Lamps are an ideal way to create a sense of warmth in your living room but it’s critical to choose the right light bulbs to avoid your spaces looking like a convenience store. The colour temperature of lights are measured in Kelvins, with 2700k-3000k considered warm and 4000k-5000k considered cool light.
How much should you spend on a floor lamp?
The good news is floor lamps are available at a wide range of price points. Like most furniture, however, you get what you pay for. Prices for a reasonably good floor lamp start from $200 up to $5000 or more. Ensure it has at least a 12-month warranty.
What type of floor lamp gives off the most light?
This will depend on the type of lightbulb you use, as well as the style of lamp shade. Light intensity is measured in lumens and watts. A standard 40w lightbulb emits 450 lumens, while a 60w bulb emits 800 lumens. LED (light emitting diodes) lights output the most light in the most energy efficient way. A wider lampshade design will allow the light to extend its reach.
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Apple’s first foldable, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, combines an iPhone and iPad Mini experience—but its size, weight and price come with compromises.
By Nicole Nguyen | Photography by Alexander Hotz for WSJ
Thu, Sep 10, 2026 4 min
4 min
As I watched a Netflix show on Apple’s first foldable, the iPhone Duo, I had two surprising thoughts.
The first: Maybe I don’t need my iPad Mini anymore.
The second: Uh oh, am I about to spend $1,999 on a phone?
I didn’t think folding phones were for me. I’ve been testing Android versions from Samsung and Google since 2019, and those early editions came with too much screen and too many compromises.
Fast forward seven years, and the technology has come a long way. Apple—in its very Apple way—has also come up with some hardware and software trickery to make up for some shortcomings of the basic design. My desire for a folding phone before today was zero. After today, it’s a lot more than zero.
I’m not ready to recommend the Duo, which ships on Oct. 23, just yet. Not until I am able to test it more fully, so be on the lookout for that review in a few weeks. But from what I experienced at Apple Park on Wednesday, I could actually picture myself using this new half-phone, half-tablet hybrid.
Crease camouflage
For months, I’ve been using Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8, a similarly squat, passport-shaped foldable that opens up to a larger screen. It’s impressively thin and can easily fit into the infuriatingly tiny pockets in women’s pants and dresses. Samsung did a lot of work to minimize the crease—the dip between the two halves of the big interior display—but it’s still clearly there.
When I held the iPhone Duo open, the crease was barely visible. As I slid my finger across the display, I could feel it, but it’s more subtle than Samsung’s. Most of the time, the screen looked as flat and smooth as the one on an iPad.
Apple employed both software and hardware techniques to camouflage the crease. The matte surface of the interior 7.6-inch screen minimizes reflections to hide it. (Samsung’s Fold 8 screen is shiny.)
And as you begin to open or close the iPhone Duo, the interface shifts the controls and content away from the center crease. If, say, you’re watching a video on the outer screen, you can open the Duo to switch to the bigger display within. A black fade marks the transition. You don’t see the video full screen until the phone is completely flat.
Heavy handed
My second observation was that, when the Duo is closed, in phone mode, it was harder to use one-handed than I expected.
In the keynote trailer and press release, Apple touted how thin the Duo is. It’s marketed as the thinnest iPhone ever—when open.
But it’s actually thicker and heavier than most of its Android competitors. The Duo weighs 254 grams, and is 11.3 millimeters thick when closed. The Samsung Galaxy Fold 8 is just 201 grams, with a thickness of 9.7 millimeters. Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold is 239 grams and 10.1 millimeters.
Because the Duo is also wider than a standard iPhone, I found it quite a challenge to type.
I admit, I do have smaller-than-average hands. So I consulted my colleague Rolfe Winkler, who has a larger grip. He agreed the Duo feels big.
Apple rearranged the interface on the outer screen so it looks different than traditional iPhones. The dock and control center are off to the right to be more reachable. Committing to the Duo as your main device will require adjustments in your handling. You will have to learn a new way to use and type.
Work and play
My most surprising takeaway? I feel a pull toward this device.
I always thought that combining an iPhone and an iPad would mean bigger compromises. The battery life is about the same as the 18 Pro (up to 24 hours of “regular use” on a single charge), though I’ll need to verify that in my real-world testing. And it’s also as durable, with the same IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating as the rest of the iPhone lineup.
There are trade-offs, for sure. Trying out the camera, I immediately missed the 8X zoom in my Pro model. The Duo has just 2X zoom, which wouldn’t cut it for the dozens of pictures I take of my kid every day.
But the dual screens unlock new photo functionality. You can see what your shot looks like from the outside screen. As someone who has tried tirelessly to self-direct a family photo—or a spouse—I am very eager to try this out more.
Foldables, I initially thought, were for classic mobile-warrior jet-setter types, who never sit at a desk and are always on calls. For that crowd, the Duo can run two apps side-by-side.
Me, I’m more of a bed binge-watcher and ebook reader. That’s what my beloved iPad Mini is for.
Watching videos on the Duo is a nice experience—nice enough that you forget the screen is 0.7 inches smaller than the iPad Mini’s. The main screen is also a 4:3 aspect ratio. Very similar, by the way, to the IMAX edition of the Odyssey.
Because I wasn’t able to snag a ticket to one of the sold-out screenings, I will be watching Christopher Nolan’s version of Homer’s epic on the Duo, just as the director intended. (Just kidding! Sort of.)
The Duo costs $800 more than an iPhone 18 Pro, and I’m not sure I want to spend that premium on a first-generation Apple device. But I’m not ruling out the idea that a Duo might one day be in my future. Stay tuned for my full review.
