10 best desk lamps for working and studying at home

Best: Overall

We love this nifty lamp from Ikea, especially its wireless charging pad – simply place your phone (iPhone 8 or newer and Samsung Galaxy S6 or newer models all work) on the charging base and let it do its thing. One less cable to get tangled with the myriad others can only be a good thing.

The arm and head are adjustable and it comes with a USB port and a built-in warm white LED. We’ve come to expect functional products from Ikea, but this is surprisingly sleek and stylish too, and we’re pleased the LED isn’t jarringly bright. A great-value lamp that ticks a lot of boxes.

Best: For designer style

If sleek, smart and original are at the top of your desk lamp wish list, they don’t come much cooler than this beautifully simple leather-and-metal design. The head and arm are fixed in place, but it is compact enough to move around a desk easily, should you need to direct light to a specific area. The vegetable-tanned leather shade comes in three colours – black, dark tan and light tan – all sat atop a silver-coloured brass base. Aside from its elegant design, we love that it has a fabric, rather than a plastic cord, which adds to its high-end feel. A well-made lamp that looks more expensive than it is.

Best: For versatility

Trying to shoehorn a lamp on to your already-crowded desk? Or maybe you need light in an awkward place? This small but perfectly formed lamp has a hinged clip for a base (with protective foam pads that won’t mark furniture), so you can clip it to any surface. We mounted ours on the side edge of a floating wall shelf to give downward-facing, directional light via the moveable head, but it can also be placed on a flat surface just like a regular lamp. If the copper-effect finish is not for you, it also comes in brushed chrome. A clever idea at a low price.

Best: For casting a softer light

Another super-sleek design that looks more like an ornament than a lamp, but this light is anything but style over substance. The LED is dimmable and the shade is adjustable for versatility, but the Parasol’s cleverest feature is the way it casts its light. The LED projects upwards from the top of the base and light is reflected off the underside of the shade, making it much less harsh than most desk lamp light. It’s fairly lofty too, at 50cm high, so it easily reached over this tester’s laptop and monitor, which are both positioned on stands. The perfect combination of form and function.

Best: For minimal design

This desk lamp is really elegant and unobtrusive, and its super-thin base allowed this tester to slide it under a backless monitor stand, so it took up hardly any extra surface space. The built-in LED has three adjustable light levels, and the hinged base and head allow you to configure it in almost any way you need. At 53cm high, it’ll tower over most things on a desk – great if your work area is piled high with things that you need to keep to hand. We especially like the brushed effect of the metal, it almost looks like wood grain and gives this lamp a wonderfully sleek feel.

Best: For a dash of colour

The first thing we noticed about this lamp was how weighty and solid it felt, then how lovely the pink glass shade looks when it’s illuminated. The lamp is weighty because it’s made of bronze-effect iron, but its finish is refined and the shape incredibly simple, which lets the pink shade do the talking. The head and base are fixed in position and the light casts a much softer glow compared to the other lamps we tested, so it’s a good choice for general work, rather than anything too detailed. Fans of 1930s Bauhaus style will fall head over heels for this beautiful design.

Best: For small spaces

We realise we may have cheated a little here by including a wall lamp in our round-up, but hear us out. Nobody ever said a desk lamp had to be positioned on a desk, and some people just don’t have the space for one. This stylish yet functional wall light has a matt-black metal shade (a glossy, deep-green design is also available) and a hinged brass arm that can be extended up to 70cm out from the wall and adjusted in all directions. The light is not dimmable, but the on/off switch is positioned on the cable, so there’s no need to get up and down to turn it on and off. A great alternative if your desk space leaves a lot to be desired…

Best: For interesting light patterns

We love the ridged glass shade and the unusual shape of this elegant Oliver Bonas design, which has more than a hint of Art Deco style to it. It feels sturdy and well-made and the uneven finish of the blue/green glass casts the light in lovely scattered patterns. Its position can’t be adjusted but the light is dimmable – perfect for creating a soft, ambient feel while working. This tester fitted a bulb with a decorative filament as it was just crying out for something as stylish as the lamp itself. It looks like a statement vase when it’s not switched on and is decent value at £85.

Best: For classic good looks on a budget

This timeless-looking chrome lamp reminds us of a fisherman’s pendant light with an industrial-style edge. The ball-jointed arm is adjustable, as is where the top of the shade meets the arm, so the lamp can be manoeuvred into countless positions for perfectly directed light. The open shade means the light is cast across a wide area, so it’s a good choice for larger desks. It’s also available in antique-effect brass with a mottled matt-black shade and base if you prefer a more traditional look. A great all-rounder that’s classic and functional at a low price.

Best: For a touch of luxury

The delicate, feminine look of this Anthropologie lamp belies its sturdiness. The base and weighted end of the arm are made of marble and the shade and arm itself are iron finished in an aged gold effect. It really is a thing of beauty and the shell-inspired shade is not like anything we’ve seen before. The arm is adjustable, allowing the shade to be positioned up high for general lighting or down low to give a more focused light source. It is heavy, and not a lamp that you’d want to move around often, so find a good spot for it (preferably not hidden behind a stack of folders) and admire it as you work.