Ah, lamps. Can't get enough of them. Decorating magic. Seriously, is there anything else in your home which can change the mood and improve your complexion at the same time?

You'll see some gorgeous examples in our Emac & Lawton sale event today. In between bickering over our favourites, we compiled our top ten illuminating tips.

Room decorated by New York decorator Celerie Kemble. Image: lonnymag.com

1.     Halogen downlights have their place, but in large quantities and at full strength they can add an air of Long-Bay-by-night to your interiors.  Plus, they're an expensive way to light your home. For goodness sake, turn them down if you have a dimmer switch. If not, consider turning them off altogether and relying on lamp light.

2.     Form should follow function. Task lighting should be bright enough and directed appropriately for your task, whether it's reading, writing or applying fake tan. If you're using a desk lamp, position it on your left if you're right handed and vice versa, so that you don't cast a shadow on your own work.

3.     Ambient lighting from table lamps or floor lamps doesn't need to be so bright (particularly if your fake tan is streaky). Do make sure that all corners of your room are equally lit.

4.     A classic lamp base is a great investment. Remember that you can change the shade to update the look. Go all out with an amazing fabric, since you'll only need a small amount. Generally, straight-sided shades give a more modern look, and angled shades lend a traditional air. Bigger and wider shades are striking, but keep them in proportion with the size of the base.

5.     Position lamps so that you are not looking into the less glamorous hardware on the inside. This means making sure the bottom of the lamp shades near sofas or chairs are at about ear height when you're sitting down.

Room decorated by US decorator Susan Becher. Image: lonnymag.com

6.     A pair of lamps will add symmetry, always pleasing to the eye. Place lamps at either end of a sofa, console table or chest, or of course use as bedside lamps. If you don't like a matchy-matchy look, use different lamps but make sure the shades are at around the same height.

7.     Place lamps around the outside of a room on tables and shelves so that they radiate light towards the centre of the room for a cosy effect.

8.     Never use a higher wattage bulb than what is recommended for the lamp. This can be dangerous. Not to mention bright.

9.     You'll save a lot of energy by replacing traditional bulbs with the new compact flurorescent bulbs (CFLs). For example, an old 60W bulb can be replaced by a CFL of around 12W. The government is "helping" you to save energy by phasing out inefficient incandescent lights.

10.     If you are using CFLs, be aware that they come in three different shades - warm white, cool white, and daylight. Warm white is the most similar to traditional light bulbs, and the most suited to ambient lighting.



By the way, the front runner for favourite in our Emac & Lawton feature is this small lamp with a silver tea caddy base. Which is yours?