The best floor lamps you can buy

Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.A good floor lamp can brighten up an entire room or provide direct light right where you need it most. We've picked out the best floor lamps you can buy to suit your needs. The Brightech SKY LED Torchiere Floor Lamp is our top pick because it offers versatility with dimmer settings, a lamp socket that pivots, and a few different finishes.If you grew up at a time when floor lamps were popular, you probably have a few memories of them. You almost certainly knocked one over at some point by running through the house or — even worse — playing ball in the house. Or, if you were lucky enough to have a floor lamp with a three-way bulb, you could spend hours entertaining yourself with the bright/brighter/brightest settings. Admittedly, I may not have had the most exciting childhood.You may not have thought much about floor lamps lately. Or maybe that 100-year grounding your parents gave you after breaking the lamp as a kid technically remains in place, so you have a mental block about floor lamps. But modern floor lamps offer different and contemporary designs versus their counterparts from a few decades ago. Newer lamps may use LED lighting, which provides a pleasing type of lighting that's also cost-effective and efficient.How to choose a floor lampSelecting a floor lamp becomes an easier process if you understand how you want to use it. Floor lamps come in many different designs and use different types of lighting.Height: Do you want the lamp to provide task lighting for someone sitting on the couch？ Or are you looking to light up an area of the room？ Do you have tall ceilings？ All of these considerations can help you select the height of the floor lamp you'll want to purchase. For example, as Homeclick says, a short lamp doesn't look great in a room with high ceilings.Base: The base of the floor lamp plays a role in the sturdiness of the lamp. A lamp with a wide base will be more difficult to tip over than one with a small base. Lamp bases are available in wood, glass, ceramic, or metal. Finish: The finish on the lamp usually carries through the pole, sockets, and base. Common finishes for floor lamps include antique bronze, oil-rubbed bronze, brushed nickel, and satin nickel, according to Lowe's.Lampshade: Although some modern style floor lamps don't make use of lamp shades, you can add color and style to the lamp with a custom lampshade, as Pooky explains. The lamp shade also cuts down on the intensity of the light, as it shades your eyes from the light bulb. Different materials will allow different intensities of light to be visible through the lampshade.Designs of floor lampsFloor lamps are about more than just the type of lighting they provide. Floor lamps are about style, too. Now, we know we can't tell you what you should or should not like since style is a very subjective matter. The lamp you choose contributes to the décor of your room. However, most lamp designs fall into a few categories. Here are the main designs you can choose from as explained by LampsUSA and Decorated Life.Classic/Console: The classic or console floor lamp has a single fixture directly above the pole, and it's the most common type of floor lamp. This type of floor lamp provides accent lighting if a lampshade is attached.Arch/Adjustable: An arch or adjustable style of floor lamp has a curved pole that allows you to direct the light to a specific area. For example, you might place the arch floor lamp behind a chair and then have the fixtures of the arch hang directly over the chair, providing a directed light source. Some arch floor lamps allow you to adjust the positioning of the angle of the arch.Tree: The tree style of floor lamp has a single pole that leads to several small branch poles, each of which has a light fixture attached to it. With some floor lamps, the branches of the tree lamp are adjustable.Torchiere lighting: Torchiere lighting mimics overhead lighting by projecting the light from the lamp upward. The shade is shaped like a bowl, which directs the light upward. It enhances the room's ambient light.We researched buyer reviews and expert opinions on floor lamps to find the best floor lamps you can buy online. We tried to select a number of different styles and types of floor lamps to suit most people's needs. Read on to learn more about our top picks. You should also consult our light bulb buying guide for tips on how to choose the best bulbs for your new lamp.Here are the best floor lamps you can buy:Best floor lamp overall: Brightech SKY LED Torchiere Floor LampBest tree style floor lamp: Brayden Studio Utecht Tree LampBest traditional floor lamp: Barnes and Ivy Florencio Antique Gold Floor LampBest task lamp: Trent Austin Design Kaibab Task LampBest lamp with shelves: Catalina 3-Way Étagère LampBest arch style lamp: Artiva USA Micha Arched LampUpdated on 05/13/2019 by Les Shu: Updated links, formatting, and prices.Keep scrolling to read more about our top picks.