Listen to this guide
To check whether a floor lamp lights the reading page, sit in your own reading chair with your own book and the globe you will keep, then look for four failures: a hand shadow, a head shadow, glare you can see and glare off the page. Record pass or fail, move the lamp if anything fails, and keep the position that passes. A phone light meter helps compare positions, but its number is indicative, not calibrated.
This page is the test only. Where a lamp suits each room is in our floor lamp placement guide, and warm versus cool globes in our bulb temperature guide.
Before you start
- You need the chair in its usual spot, the book or screen you read most, a tape measure, masking tape, a phone and 15 minutes.
- Test after dark, curtains drawn, ceiling light as you normally leave it. Daylight hides every failure here.
- Fit the globe you will keep, within the lamp's rated maximum (10W LED on most of our current lamps).
STEP 1Set up the exact scene
Put the chair and lamp where they live and tape around the lamp base and the chair's front feet, so every retest starts from the same spot. Sit the way you read, then have someone measure the page height off the floor and the floor distance from the lamp pole to the middle of the page. Compare that distance with the lamp's listed reach, pole centre to shade centre. If the reach is much shorter, the light arrives from beside the chair rather than over the book; steps 2 and 5 show whether that matters.
STEP 2Check for hand and head shadows
Read a page and turn it, watching the lines under your hands. Then lean back into your usual posture and read near the bottom of the page. If the page darkens as you settle, your head or shoulder is blocking light coming from straight behind you.
Pass: no shadow crosses the lines you are reading, on either page, in your normal posture. Fail: move the base to the other side of the chair, or 20cm forward on the same side, and repeat. Often one side passes and the other fails, depending on which hand turns the pages.
STEP 3Check for direct glare
Still seated, glance up toward the lamp as you naturally would. If you can see the bare globe or the bright inside of the shade, that is direct glare, and it tires your eyes long before the page feels dim. Our open dome arcs, the Orsay and Cosmo, show the globe from directly below, so the seat belongs beside the dome, not under it.
Pass: no globe and no bright inner shade in view from where you read. Fail: slide the base until the shade sits beside or just behind your shoulder, or fit a frosted globe.
STEP 4Check for glare off the page
Glossy pages and tablet screens bounce the lamp back at you. Hold one where you read, look for a bright patch or washed out band across the text, and tilt it gently.
Pass: no bright patch on the lines you are reading at your normal angle. Fail: move the lamp further to the side so light crosses the page at an angle, not down your line of sight.
STEP 5Compare the light across the page
Open the book flat. The far page should be readable without leaning in; if it is clearly dimmer, the shade sits too far to one side. For a number, lay your phone on the book with a light meter app (the app says which side faces the light) and read it in position A, then B.
Treat that number as indicative, not calibrated. Phone sensors are not calibrated light meters and two phones or apps can disagree widely, so compare only readings from the same phone, app and spot. It chooses between positions; it cannot certify a room.
Pass: both pages readable without leaning in, and your position reads the same or higher on the same phone.
STEP 6Read for twenty minutes, then record it
Quick checks miss slow problems. Read for twenty minutes in the passing position; tired eyes or tilting the book toward the lamp count as a fail. Then fill in the sheet and keep it. If the lamp, globe or chair moves, test again.
Your reading light record sheet
| Check | Pass line | Position A (pass or fail) | Position B (pass or fail) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Page height, pole to page distance, globe fitted | ||
| Hand shadow | No shadow on the lines you read | ||
| Head shadow | Page stays even when you lean back | ||
| Direct glare | No globe or bright inner shade in view | ||
| Glare off the page | No bright patch on gloss or a screen | ||
| Across the page | Far page readable without leaning in | ||
| Phone reading (indicative) | Same phone, same app, same spot | ||
| Twenty minute read | No tired eyes, no tilting the book |
What the listing tells you before you test
The test settles it for your chair; the listing tells you what to expect. Our in stock lamps fall into three groups.
| Where the shade sits | Lamps (all in stock) | Reach, pole to shade centre | Check first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carried over the seat | Orsay (173cm, 25cm dome) · Cosmo (183cm, 30cm dome) | About 46cm · about 70cm | Direct glare from under the open dome (step 3) |
| Beside the chair | Rousseau (two layer drum) · Marceau (linen drum) · Aurelia (tilting pleated shade) | About 26cm · about 20cm · about 16cm | Shadows and the far page (steps 2 and 5) |
| Over its own base | Chandelle (linen column) · Solara (fluted glass) · Voltaire (three open cages) | No reach; Voltaire's arms spread about 45cm | Glare and the far page (steps 3 and 5) |
Two listings say it plainly: Aurelia is not one for detailed work, and Solara is a mood lamp, not a task lamp.
Three lamps that carry light toward the page
OVER THE SEAT · 173CM · ABOUT 46CM REACH
Orsay Gold Arc Floor Lamp
A 25cm dome carried about 46cm out drops light onto the book. Open underneath, so keep the seat beside it (step 3).
In stock: see live price
THE LONGEST REACH · 183CM · ABOUT 70CM
Cosmo Chrome Marble Base Floor Lamp
A 30cm chrome dome carried about 70cm out on a 9.7kg marble base. Needs 102.7cm of floor, so measure first.
In stock: see live price
BESIDE THE SEAT · 169CM · ABOUT 26CM
Rousseau Rattan Weave Floor Lamp
A linen inner drum inside woven paper rope hides the globe; the shade sits about 26cm out, beside your shoulder. Check the far page (step 5).
In stock: see live priceFrequently asked questions
Can a phone light meter app measure reading light?
It can compare, not certify. Phone sensors are not calibrated and readings vary between phones and apps, so treat the number as indicative: compare two positions or globes on the same phone, app and spot, and let the shadow and glare checks decide.
Which side of the chair should a reading floor lamp go?
Test both. The right side is the one where your page turning hand throws no shadow on the text and the globe stays out of view. Tape the base in each spot and run the same checks.
Something failed at your chair?
Browse the floor lamps collection: every lamp above is in stock. For height against your ceiling, see our floor lamp sizing guide.
Written by the C&F Creation Team. NZ designed and NZ owned; 4.9 stars across over 200 reviews. Lamps ship by courier NZ wide at the live rate shown at checkout (Mainfreight is for our mirrors), with Afterpay and Zip available. Pickup from our Albany showroom, Unit B, 19 Arrenway Drive, Rosedale, Auckland, open seven days (Mon to Fri 9:30am to 4:30pm, Sat and Sun 10am to 4pm).
