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Desk Lamps

Light basics for your desk

Brightness, color, placement, and the words on the box, explained.

What is in this section

Good desk light comes down to three things: enough light on your work, a color you are comfortable with, and a lamp placed so the light lands on the work and not in your eyes.

Guides

A lamp glowing warm white above a cool-white LED bulb on a white background

Bulbs and color temperature

Lumens, Kelvin, and CRI on the box.

Mushroom lamp casting a warm pool of light on a dark desk beside a small plant

Lumens and lux by task

How much light different desk tasks need.

Brass banker lamp with a green glass shade on a desk by a window at dusk

Task lighting and placement

Where to put the lamp and how to avoid glare.

Woven drum pendant shade glowing against a dark wood wall

Lighting glossary

Every term in one place.

Start with the box

Lumens, Kelvin, and CRI are the three numbers that matter most. Learn them first.

Read bulbs and color temperature
Desk Lamps

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