Listen to this guide
A floor standing lamp is a floor lamp. So is a lounge lamp, a stand light, a standard lamp and a free standing lamp. Five names, one object: a tall lamp with its own weighted base that stands on the floor and plugs into the wall. Once you know that, the only decisions left are the three that actually change how the room feels: how tall the lamp is, how far it reaches its light out from the pole, and what silhouette it cuts in the corner. This guide lays our whole in stock range out by exactly those three numbers, so you can match a lamp to a 2.4m New Zealand ceiling and the chair or couch it has to light, whatever you have always called it.
Key takeaways
- Floor standing lamp, lounge lamp, stand light, standard lamp and floor lamp all mean the same thing — a self supporting lamp on the floor. The word changes with the generation and the shop; the lamp does not.
- Height is the first decision. Our in stock range runs 156cm to 183cm. Under a standard 2.4m ceiling, 156cm to 170cm sits beside a bed or a chair without crowding; 173cm to 183cm wants an open corner or a couch to arc over.
- Reach is the second. A straight pole drops light beside itself. A gooseneck or downbridge nudges it 16cm to 26cm out. An arc carries it 46cm to 70cm, over the seat, where a pendant would hang.
- Footprint decides the corner. Chandelle needs 20cm of floor; Cosmo needs just over a metre. Measure the gap before you fall for the silhouette.
- Every lamp in the table below is in stock and ships by courier at live rates, with pickup from our Albany showroom seven days a week.
The short answer
A floor standing lamp is any lamp that stands on the floor on its own base, so a lounge lamp (the same lamp, named for the room it usually lives in), a stand light (the same lamp, named for the pole it stands on), a standard lamp (the older British and Kiwi word) and a floor lamp (the word most shops now use online) all describe one thing. There is no design difference between them. Pick by height, reach and footprint, not by the name.
Standing lamp, floor lamp, same thing. Every lamp below is from our own range, assembled and switched on in our Albany showroom before it goes on the site.
Shop Floor LampsOr browse: Arc Floor Lamps · Black Floor Lamps · Fabric & Linen Floor Lamps
One lamp, five names: floor standing lamp, lounge lamp, stand light
The confusion is history, not design. Standard lamp is the older term, carried over from British English, and it is still the word a lot of New Zealanders reach for, especially anyone who furnished a home before the 1990s. Floor lamp is the more modern, American influenced word most retailers use online. Standing lamp, floor standing lamp and free standing lamp sit in the middle, describing the plain fact that the lamp holds itself up. Lounge lamp names the lamp after the room it usually ends up in, and stand light names it after the pole. Search any of them and you land on the same shelf.
We think this is worth clearing up properly, because when people are not sure they are describing the same thing, they hesitate. You should not have to learn our vocabulary to buy a lamp. Whether you type floor standing lamps, lounge lamps or stand lights into the search bar, you are looking for the same piece of furniture, and everything below applies equally to all of them. For the wider buying decision, our guide to choosing a floor lamp walks through the whole range; this page is the shortcut that sorts the range by the numbers.
Three questions before you buy a floor standing lamp
Once you know the name does not matter, three numbers do. This is the check we run ourselves before we list a lamp, and it is the one we give friends who ask. Run them in order and the right lamp tends to pick itself.
1How tall is your ceiling, and what is the lamp standing beside?
Most New Zealand homes have a standard 2.4m ceiling, and that number quietly decides which height looks right. A 156cm lamp sits naturally beside a bed, an armchair or a low sofa. A 183cm arc needs the room and the ceiling height to carry it, or it crowds the space above your head. Villas and newer builds with a higher stud can take the taller end of the range; a low rental usually cannot. As a rule of thumb, the bottom of the shade should land near your eye line when you are seated next to it, so the globe never glares straight at you.
2Where does the light need to land?
This chooses the reach and the silhouette. Light that should wash a whole corner softly wants a straight pole with the shade up high. Light that needs to sit on your book or your lap wants an arm that carries the shade out past the base, whether a gentle gooseneck or a full arc. Decide where the light lands and you have narrowed the range to a shape. Our reading lamp guide goes deeper on the page test.
3Will it ever move, and how much floor can you give it?
A floor standing lamp is the most move friendly light there is, which is exactly why renters love it: no drilling, no electrician, just plug it in. If you move often, a lighter lamp with a simple pole travels well. If it is staying put and anchoring an open corner, a heavy marble base is a feature, not a nuisance. The other half of this question is floor width: an arc lamp takes up to a metre of floor from the outer edge of its base to the outer edge of its shade, so measure the gap first. Our rental lighting guide covers the move friendly angle in full.
Every in stock C&F floor standing lamp, by height
Here is our floor lamp range laid out by height, reach and floor width, shortest to tallest, so you can see at a glance which floor standing lamp fits your room. Every one of these is a floor lamp, a lounge lamp, a stand light and a standard lamp, depending on who you ask. Heights are assembled heights from the base to the top of the lamp; reach is measured from the centre of the pole to the centre of the shade; floor width is the widest the lamp gets from the outer edge of the base to the outer edge of the shade. Anything on pre order is left out on purpose: this table only lists lamps that are in stock and can ship this week.
| Floor standing lamp | Height | Reach from pole | Floor width | Silhouette | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurelia Pleated Fabric | 156cm | About 16cm (gooseneck) | 46cm | Timber look pole, curved brass arm, 34cm cream pleated shade, 3.7kg | Beside a reading chair, a bed or the end of a couch under a 2.4m ceiling |
| Marceau Linen Drum | 163.5cm | About 20cm (downbridge) | 49.3cm | Matte black steel arm with one sharp 90 degree turn, 30cm beige linen drum, 3.1kg | Nudging light over a sofa arm or side table without the sweep of an arc |
| Chandelle Linen Column | 166.8cm | None (straight) | 20cm | Slim matte black pole, 40cm tall linen column shade that glows top to bottom, 2.5kg | The gap beside a dresser, a hallway corner, the sliver of wall behind a door |
| Rousseau Rattan Weave | 169cm | About 26cm (bridge arm) | 48.6cm | Matte black bridge arm, 32cm two layer shade of woven paper rope over a linen drum, 5.6kg | A flat lounge wall that wants texture and pattern; clears a slim chair arm |
| Solara Fluted Lantern | 173cm | None (straight) | 40cm | Brushed brass pole, fluted glass lantern with the globe on show, 4.8kg | An entryway, the end of a hallway, a corner that wants a decorative glow |
| Orsay Gold Arc | 173cm | About 46cm (arc) | 71.5cm | Slim satin gold arc, 25cm gold dome, round weighted base, 5.6kg | Over a sofa or coffee table where there is no ceiling point for a pendant |
| Voltaire 3-Light Cage | 176.1cm | Three short arms, 45cm across | 45cm | Matte black pole, three open wire cages holding three exposed globes, 4.6kg | Filling a dark corner from one stand; an industrial or loft look |
| Cosmo Chrome Marble Base | 183cm | About 70cm (arc) | 102.7cm | Polished chrome arc, 30cm chrome dome, 32cm black marble base, 9.7kg | The statement over a couch in an open plan lounge with room to breathe |
Stock and specifications as at September 2026, checked against each product page on the day this guide was rebuilt. Every lamp above takes a standard E27 globe, sold separately, and switches on an inline foot switch on the cord. Not sure which height suits your room? Our 2.4m ceiling sizing guide works through it with a tape measure.
The straight floor standing lamp: the classic silhouette
When most people picture a standard lamp, this is the shape in their head: a straight pole, a weighted base and a shade up top that spreads a soft, even glow across a room. It is the most versatile silhouette because it does the one job every lounge needs, which is gentle ambient light in the evening, and it does it from the smallest footprint in the range. It stands quietly in a corner and lifts the whole room without shouting about it. Two of our lamps take this shape, and they could not be more different in character.
THE SMALLEST FOOTPRINT · 166.8CM
Chandelle Linen Column Floor Lamp
Every home has a spot that stays dark because nothing fits there: the gap beside the dresser, the hallway corner, the wall behind the door. Chandelle was made for those spots. Its base is a weighted disc just 20cm across, the smallest in our range, and everything above it runs dead straight. The shade is the whole point: a 40cm tall beige linen column that lights up top to bottom as a single vertical line of light rather than a spot. At 2.5kg it is also the easiest lamp here to carry between rooms.
Afterpay and Zip available at checkout · courier NZ wide at live rates
See Chandelle and live price →
THE GLOBE ON SHOW · 173CM
Solara Fluted Lantern Floor Lamp
Most floor lamps hide the globe. Solara shows it, through a fluted glass lantern on a brushed brass stem, and the vertical flutes act as a row of narrow lenses that break a warm globe into soft bands of light on the wall behind. It is a decorative stand light rather than an ambient wash, which is why it earns its place at the end of a hallway or beside an entry console. Stands 173cm on a 40cm base, 4.8kg. Fit a vintage style filament LED and the globe becomes the centrepiece.
Afterpay and Zip available at checkout · courier NZ wide at live rates
See Solara and live price →The reaching lamp: light over the chair
2Pick this shape when: you want the light to land on your book or your lap, not on the wall behind you, and there is no room for a side table.
A straight floor standing lamp stands beside a chair and lights the air next to it. A reaching lamp leans over the chair and puts the light where you are. The difference matters most in a reading corner, where you want a defined warm pool on the page rather than a general wash. Three of our lamps solve this with three different arms: Aurelia with a gentle gooseneck, Marceau with a squared off downbridge, and Rousseau with a bridge arm that carries its woven shade about 26cm out and throws a soft pattern on the wall as a bonus. None of them is a full arc, which is exactly the point: they fit beside a chair rather than across it.
THE GOOSENECK · 156CM
Aurelia Pleated Fabric Floor Lamp
The quiet one in the range, and the shortest lamp we stock, which is deliberate: at 156cm it stays neat beside a bed or an armchair under a 2.4m ceiling. A brass gooseneck curves out from a wood grain pole and tilts a 34cm cream pleated shade forward, so the glow falls onto a book or a bedside table instead of dropping in a column beside the lamp. The reach is gentle, about 16cm from pole centre to shade centre, so it sits beside a chair rather than leaning across it. Mid century manners, 3.7kg, nothing shouting for attention.
Afterpay and Zip available at checkout · courier NZ wide at live rates
See Aurelia and live price →
THE DOWNBRIDGE · 163.5CM
Marceau Linen Drum Floor Lamp
Some lamps get where they are going with a big sweeping curve. Marceau does not. The matte black arm leaves the pole dead straight, turns once at a sharp 90 degrees, and sets a 30cm beige linen drum down about 20cm clear of the upright. Small move, completely different look: next to the curvier lamps it reads drafted and almost architectural. It takes about 49cm of floor all up and weighs 3.1kg, so it moves easily between the couch and the reading chair.
Afterpay and Zip available at checkout · courier NZ wide at live rates
See Marceau and live price →The statement lamp: arcs and three light stands
Some corners want a quiet lamp. Others want the lamp to be the thing you notice. A statement floor standing lamp is taller, bolder and usually reaches well out into the room, which is why it needs a bit of space and a bit of ceiling to carry it. In an open plan lounge with a higher stud, this is where a stand light earns its keep as furniture, not just lighting. Our three statement lamps get there in two different ways: two are arcs that hang their light over the seat like a pendant with a plug, and one is a three light stand that fills a corner from a single base. If it is the arc shape you are after, the arc floor lamps collection puts them side by side.
THE TALLEST IN STOCK · 183CM
Cosmo Chrome Marble Base Floor Lamp
Cosmo is the loud one. A polished chrome arc rises from a 32cm black marble base to 183cm and carries a 30cm chrome dome about 70cm out, far enough to sit over a couch or a reading chair. The marble does the quiet work: at 9.7kg this is a lamp that anchors a corner rather than one you shuffle around, and the counterweight is what lets the arc reach that far. Chrome mirrors the rest of the room at night, so give it calmer surfaces around it and just over a metre of floor.
Afterpay and Zip available at checkout · courier NZ wide at live rates
See Cosmo and live price →
THREE LIGHTS, ONE STAND · 176CM
Voltaire 3-Light Cage Floor Lamp
One globe in a dark corner gives you a spotlight. Voltaire gives you three. Three short arms come off a single matte black pole, each holding an exposed globe inside an open wire cage, thrown in three directions from one 45cm wide stand. A single shade lamp brightens the patch it points at; this one fills the corner. Because all three globes sit in plain view, vintage style filament LEDs are the ones to buy, and you will need three matching ones before it arrives. 176cm tall, 4.6kg, and the trio switches together on the foot switch.
Afterpay and Zip available at checkout · courier NZ wide at live rates
See Voltaire and live price →The third statement lamp is the Orsay Gold Arc: the same idea as Cosmo with a calmer temperament. A slim satin gold pole climbs to 173cm, curves about 46cm out and parks a 25cm gold dome above your seat, taking about 71.5cm of floor all up. Brushed gold warms whatever glow comes off the dome, so where chrome can look a little sharp after dark, Orsay reads soft. It is the arc for a lounge that does not want the lamp to be the loudest thing in it. Our arc floor lamp guide covers the couch clearance maths for both.
The one upgrade that matters most: the globe
Whichever floor standing lamp you choose, the single thing that decides how it feels is the globe, and it is the part most people never think about. A cool, blue white globe makes a lovely lamp read like office lighting. A warm white globe around 2700K makes the same lamp feel like a home. On a dark New Zealand evening, when it is black outside by half past five and the heat pump is doing overtime, warm light is what makes a room feel settled rather than clinical.
This is not just our preference. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority recommends warm white LEDs around 2700K for living areas because they are both efficient and easy on the eye. Fit one to your stand light and you get the mood right and keep the power bill down at the same time. None of our lamps ship with a globe, so add one to the order or pick one up with the lamp. We go deeper on colour temperature in our warm versus cool globe guide.
Price, Afterpay and delivery in New Zealand
Every lamp on this page shows its current price and the original price side by side on its product page, and every one of them is available on Afterpay and Zip, so you can split the cost into four without paying more. We keep the prices on the product pages rather than repeating them here, so what you see at checkout is always the live number.
Delivery is calculated live at checkout from your address, so you only ever pay the real freight on a lamp, never a flat guess. Lamps travel NZ wide by courier with the rate shown before you pay; we use Mainfreight only for larger items like mirrors and cabinets, never for a lamp. Pickup is also available 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 10:00am to 4:00pm, phone 09 971 1787), and a pickup order is usually ready within four hours. Browse the whole range together in the floor lamps collection.
Which floor standing lamp should you choose?
Start with the height and the job, and the name sorts itself out. For a bedroom, a reading chair or a low ceilinged rental, the 156cm Aurelia is the safe, classic pick, with Marceau the squared off alternative if you want the light nudged a little further out. For the tight spot nothing else fits, Chandelle needs only 20cm of floor. For a corner that wants a decorative glow rather than a wash, Solara puts the globe on show. To hang light over a couch where there is no ceiling point, Orsay and Cosmo are the arcs, calm and loud respectively, and Voltaire fills a corner with three globes from one stand. Whatever you call it, a floor standing lamp is the easiest way to change how a room feels: no drilling, no electrician, just plug it in and turn it on.
Frequently asked questions
Is a floor standing lamp the same as a floor lamp?
Yes. A floor standing lamp and a floor lamp are exactly the same thing: a tall, self supporting lamp with its own weighted base that stands on the floor rather than sitting on a table or hanging from the ceiling. The two words are used interchangeably in New Zealand, and you will often see the same lamp described both ways in the same shop. There is no design difference between them, so choose by height, reach and footprint instead of by the name.
What is a standard lamp?
A standard lamp is a floor lamp. It is the older British and New Zealand word for a tall lamp that stands on the floor, and it is still common, especially among anyone who furnished a home before the 1990s. If someone asks for a standard lamp for the lounge, they are describing the same thing a younger shopper would call a floor lamp, a floor standing lamp or a stand light. The word changed over time; the lamp did not.
What is a lounge lamp?
A lounge lamp is simply a floor standing lamp named after the room it usually lives in. In practice it means a lamp tall enough to light a seating area from beside or over the couch, so in our range that is anything from the 163.5cm Marceau, which nudges its shade over a sofa arm, up to the 173cm Orsay and 183cm Cosmo arcs, which hang their light over the seat the way a pendant would. A lamp that only lights the corner beside itself can still be a lounge lamp; it just does a different job in the room.
What is a stand light?
A stand light is another name for a floor standing lamp: a light on a pole with its own base, standing on the floor and plugged into a wall socket. The phrase is used most for the straight, upright silhouettes like the 166.8cm Chandelle or the 173cm Solara, where the pole is the whole shape, but it covers arcs and reaching lamps too. It has nothing to do with a light stand for photography, which is a tripod for holding a flash.
How tall should a floor standing lamp be under a 2.4m ceiling?
Between about 155cm and 175cm suits the standard 2.4m ceiling in most New Zealand homes. Beside a bed, an armchair or a low sofa, a lamp around 156cm to 167cm looks balanced and keeps the bottom of the shade near your seated eye line. A taller 176cm to 183cm lamp needs an open corner or a couch to arc over, and ideally a higher stud, so it does not crowd the space above your head. Our in stock range runs from 156cm to 183cm, and the table above lists every height.
Which floor standing lamp reaches over a chair for reading?
For reading you want the light to land on the page rather than the wall, which means a lamp that carries its shade out from the pole. In our range the gentle options are the Aurelia gooseneck, about 16cm of reach, and the Marceau downbridge, about 20cm, both of which sit beside a chair. The Rousseau bridge arm reaches about 26cm. For light directly over the seat, the Orsay and Cosmo arcs reach about 46cm and 70cm. Pair any of them with a warm 2700K globe and you have a comfortable reading light with no side table required.
The final word on floor standing lamps
A floor standing lamp, a lounge lamp, a stand light, a standard lamp and a floor lamp are one and the same, so do not let the name slow you down. Decide how tall your ceiling can carry, decide how far the light needs to reach, measure the floor you can give it, put a warm globe in it, and the right lamp is easy to find. Whatever you have always called it, it is the simplest way to make a New Zealand room feel warmer the moment you switch it on.
Where to go next
Ready to choose? Browse the full floor lamps collection to see the whole range together, with live prices and stock on every page. Not sure on height? Start with the sizing guide below.
Reading further on choosing the right floor lamp:
- How tall should a floor lamp be? The 2.4m ceiling rule
- How to choose a floor lamp: the honest lighting guide
- Living room floor lamps: light your lounge right
- Arc floor lamps: light over your sofa, no pendant
- Corner floor lamps: fix the dark corner properly
- Floor lamp finishes: brass, gold, rattan or linen?
- Floor lamps for rentals: no drill, move friendly
Written by the C&F Creation Team. C&F Creation is NZ owned and NZ designed, ships lamps nationwide by courier with live rates calculated at checkout (Mainfreight is reserved for larger items such as mirrors and cabinets), and offers Afterpay and Zip on every order. 4.9 stars across over 200 reviews. Pickup available 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 10:00am to 4:00pm).
Standing lamp, floor lamp, same thing. Every lamp above is from our own range, assembled and switched on in our Albany showroom before it goes on the site.
Shop Floor LampsOr browse: Arc Floor Lamps · Black Floor Lamps · Fabric & Linen Floor Lamps
