Choosing the right lamp to place on certain tables and surfaces may at first, seem incredibly simple and easy. But little do most people know that there is more to a lamp than just a shade and a bulb. A serious thought needs to be involved before you head on to your favorite furniture shops because getting the wrong lamp can ruin a perfectly well-design room. With a few simple pointers, a table lamp can function as a beautiful focal point of a room as well as an adequate source of illumination.

The first thing you need to consider when looking for a table lamp is the purpose it is supposed to fulfill.

Aside from its decorative purposes, we need to remember that the table lamp's primary role in any room is to add light. Over the years, I have seen numerous nasty-looking lamps as well as a couple of the most stunning lamps / works of art. But no matter how hideous your lamp is, it should provide enough light to your room.

Case in point, I attended a friend's party (well more of a friend's friend really) in Quezon City during my younger years.  I know party mood should have soft lights to add warmth and drama, but not really so soft to the point that you can't even see what the host prepared for dinner. Being the intrusive person that I am, I groped in the semi-darkness in search of the lamp switch. But instead of seeing a glow of light, I heard a loud explosion as the lightbulb lit up momentarily then exploded into pieces (talk about making a scene!). The lamp shattered into pieces! And as I tried to clean up the mess, I noticed a small post-it note next to the now-broken lamp saying, "Do Not Touch".

Moral of the story, do not display a lamp that is already broken just because somebody special gave it to you! Make sure it is a functioning properly before you put it on your table.

You also need to decide how much light you want your lamp to have. If you are looking for a lamp that will provide light for the whole living room, or ambient light as designers call it, make sure your lamp can do just that. Or if you decided you need a light to help you read while sitting on your sofa or bed, then what you need is a reading lamp. Make sure that the reading lamp is ear level to avoid vision glare.

Once your requirements as to function has been fulfilled, its time to consider the design and style of the table lamp to be bought. Make sure the type of lamp you buy fits the overall design of the room it will be placed in. Your lamp shade should be an added focal point in the room and not an eyesore - on the brighter side, a ghastly lampshade is an instant topic to your visitors.

I am sharing the picture of my night lamp which is next to my bed. Since I read most of the time before hitting the sack; I need sufficient light so as not to further damage my eyes. As this lamp may suggest, I like modern looking design pieces. I prefer my decorative pieces to be easy on the eyes and do not eat up a lot of space. This particular lamp shade was bought in Market! Market! in Bonifacio Global City.

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