Modern Lighting

Arcs, marble cylinders and glass domes recur through these modern floor lamps and table lamps, made in iron, marble, chrome and smoked or opal glass.

Choosing an arc floor lamp

An arc puts light over the seat while the base stands clear of it. Measure from where the base can stand to the middle of the cushion and match that to the lamp's reach: the Marston Floor Lamp spans 43¼ inches at 73¼ inches high, the Hampden Floor Lamp 63 inches, and the Wells Fabric Floor Lamp carries its drum to the middle of a sofa at 102⅜ inches overall. Hang the shade high enough that no one stands up into it, and favor a heavy base; the Avery, Hampden and Whitman are weighted with marble.

For a reading chair, an upright lamp of 58 to 64 inches puts the shade near seated eye level. The Harwood Floor Lamp (60¼ inches, black iron hourglass frame, 18⅞-inch fabric drum) and the Lennox Floor Lamp (58¼ inches, with a smoked glass dome that cuts the glare of an exposed filament) both fall in that range.

Eleven of the 14 table lamps stand on marble. On a sofa side table, the 17¾-inch Stratford Marble Table Lamp, a veined capsule base under a fabric drum, lifts the light toward eye level, while the 9- to 11-inch glass-diffuser lamps give a low, even glow on a shelf or nightstand. Browse arc floor lamps and marble table lamps in every look, see bedside table lamps for compact pieces, pair with modern coffee tables, or return to the modern collection.