Man Cave Floor Lamp

Floor lamps do the work that ceiling fixtures cannot, and in a man cave they solve a specific problem: every horizontal surface is already committed to drinks, controllers and equipment, so a lamp that needs a table has nowhere to go.

The type follows the job it has to do:

• Arc lamps reach over a sofa and light a seating group from above, working where there is no room for a side table
• Tripod and column lamps mark out a corner and give a bare wall something to hold
• Torchieres bounce light off the ceiling for soft general light with no glare
• Reading lamps with adjustable heads aim a beam at a single chair

Dimmers matter more here than in most rooms. The same space has to serve a bright card game and a dark film, and two or three dimmable sources let you drop the overheads entirely and still control what you can see. Lamps with separate switches for an upward and a downward shade give two settings from one fitting.

Placement decides whether a lamp helps or annoys. Behind and slightly to the side of a seat, a lamp lights the person without putting light into the screen. Directly opposite a television it will reflect, which is the fastest way to make an expensive screen look washed out.

Base weight is worth checking in a room where people move around in the dark. A narrow base on a tall lamp goes over easily, and a weighted or wide base is the difference between a lamp that survives a game day and one that does not.

Browse the range to compare reach, height and shade type, and think about where the light needs to land before choosing a style. The lamp that suits the room is the one aimed at something.