> sitting room

Lights

Good lighting can transform your room and elevate your mood – as well as helping you make best use of the space. Our illuminating selection offers solutions for every need.

Fortuna metal floor lamp OKA

One of the keys to getting your décor right is lighting – and one of the ways to get the lighting right is to layer it. That means you need several sources at different heights. Here’s your floor lamp. The small base allows you to tuck it next to a chair or at the end of a sofa and it won’t take up much space at floor level. The shade is big but the room is emptier up there, so you have more room to fill. The colour – dark grey - is classic and will always be friends with all the other colours in the room. Simply change the shade to refresh the décor. And if you have a small desk (or a desk in the corner of another room) then using a floor lamp instead of a task light will give you more working space.
GREYSON FLOOR LAMP Soho Home

A good floor lamp is hard to find. So often they are angular metal, which tends to look a bit more officey or contemporary than you might want. Or they have a wide base, which means they take up too much room to be tucked at the end of the sofa, or the lamp is so wide it sticks out too far from the corner. I know this because I have a beautiful standard lamp that has all these problems and I may have to move house just to accommodate it. But this one has a narrow base, a narrow shade, and its wooden bobbin form makes it an instant classic. If you’ve solved your sitting room lighting problem but are struggling with a small WFH desk, put this to one side instead of a task lamp and instantly win back more space for that essential clutter.
Wilma table lamp in ebony pooky

Lighting is one of the areas where you can make a huge statement – and you should do. But you also need those classics that can move around the house and work as ambient light in the sitting room, a bedside light – or even, if you have space, in the kitchen. In line with the fashion for the un-kitcheny kitchen, so comes the unkitcheny light – good for when you've turned down the spotlights (because you did fit a dimmer, didn’t you?) and just want something a little softer to light the bowl of pasta. This one isn’t breaking any design ground, but it will still look good in 20 years' time when your family will be raving about the vintage lamp you bought so long ago. It comes in ebony (my choice) but you might prefer the hot pink or lime green. And, of course, you can change the shade to match your mood or current décor.
45cm straight empire shade pooky

Hand-painted shades are all the rage this year and pooky has a great selection, if you’re not in the market for a spot of DIY. This is just one example but there are dozens of sizes, colours and patterns on the site. It’s all part of the Bloomsbury revival, for those who'd like reassurance that it’s not merely a passing fad.
Wilma table lamp pooky

You’ll never regret a turned wooden lamp base and this – at 23cm tall – is a modest classic. Choose your own shade to suit the room you plan to use it in and if you get bored, you can paint the base and change the shade. A pair on either side of the bed would look great but the dark wood version would sit equally well downstairs as well. Simple and excellent.
Kyoto Chandelier Soho Home

Inspired, unsurprisingly, by Japanese design, this linen light is held by thin wires to give the impression of floating in mid-air. It’s a rather beautiful piece that will work in both minimal design schemes as well as maximalist, where it will bring a much needed simple full stop to all the pattern and colour. An investment, but one that you will most likely love forever.
Nuru Adapt 1 Pendant Light House of Flora

The idea of bespoke furniture is out of reach for many, but that doesn't mean we don't want to buy something individual for our own homes. House of Flora has developed a range of lights allowing you to choose the colour, style and components of your pendant light to suit your decor, from either black, gold or silver. Perfect for those who can't find what they want but don't want to spend hours agonising over patterns and colours.
Paradiso Table Lamp with Little Greene painted base pooky

A painted table lamp base is an easy way to inject a splash of unexpected colour into a room – and pooky has collected 20 colours from Little Greene, including jewel beetle, yellow pink and carmine, for £30 a base. It's up to you whether you add a gently toning shade or a maximalist riot of pattern.
Orta Cone Wall Light Lights & Lamps

For anyone who has been wondering about mixing metallics, here's the solution. Basically it works when the two are slightly "aged" in appearance, so this is a dull silver with a dark brass creating a rather gorgeous combination. Plug-in wall lights are so much easier to use, as you can move them where you will (wall fixings not withstanding) and this also has a smart black fabric cable and a dimmer switch - perfect for evening sitting rooms and bedtime reading.
empire shade in blue and red pooky

Wall lights used to be terribly difficult - in that most of them were awful. I know one designer who is so scarred by hideous wall lights from rented flats and 80s houses that he won’t use them to this day. But the times they are a changing and you can find some beauties now. Like this. Try adding a fun floral or plain velvet shade to bring another layer of pattern and print to your room. It comes in a variety of designs and colourways, too.