ScandiArc Table Lamp

The ScandiArc is a table lamp built on a single curved metal arm that sweeps from a weighted circular base up and over into a wide domed shade. The form comes out of Bauhaus thinking, where the shape of an object follows what it has to do, and the arc here is functional as much as sculptural. Because the shade is carried out over the base rather than sitting directly above it, the light falls to one side of the lamp instead of straight down onto its own foot. That is what makes it usable on a desk or a bedside table: you can put a book, a laptop or a glass in the lit area rather than having the lamp occupy the exact spot it illuminates. The domed shade is wide at 28.5 centimetres, which spreads light over a broad pool rather than concentrating it into a narrow circle, so it works as a soft general light for a corner as readily as a reading light over a chair. Construction is iron throughout, which gives the base the weight an arched lamp needs to stay planted rather than tipping toward its overhang. That stability is not a small detail on a lamp whose centre of gravity sits away from its foot, and it is where cheaper versions of this shape usually fall down.

The proportions are worth knowing before you choose a spot. At 42.5 centimetres tall with an 18 centimetre base, it is a substantial lamp rather than a small accent piece, and the shade extends out beyond the base by a fair margin. On a narrow bedside table it will dominate, and on a shallow shelf the overhang may not clear. On a desk, a sideboard or a side table beside a chair it is very well proportioned. Four colours are offered, in black, green, white and red, which is an unusually broad choice for a lamp in this style. Black and white are the neutral picks that disappear into most rooms; green and red are decidedly not neutral and are worth choosing deliberately, because a lamp of this size in a strong colour becomes a feature of the room rather than a fixture in it. If you want the lamp to be noticed, that is exactly the right outcome, and if you do not, the neutrals are there. It is worth deciding which of the two you are after before ordering, because the same lamp does quite different work in a room depending on the colour it arrives in, and a strong colour is much harder to ignore once it is sitting on a side table under a light.

The lamp takes a standard E27 screw bulb, which is not included. That is more useful than it sounds, because it means the character of the light is entirely your decision rather than the manufacturer's. A warm bulb around 2700K gives the relaxed, lamp-like glow that suits a bedside table or a living room corner. Something brighter and cooler is better over a desk where you are working and want to stay alert. If you want dimming, buy a dimmable LED bulb and pair it with a compatible dimmer, since a standard non-dimmable bulb will flicker or buzz on a dimmer circuit rather than dimming smoothly through its range. Replacements cost very little and are sold everywhere, which is a real long-term advantage over sealed integrated fixtures where a failed diode means replacing the entire lamp rather than a bulb costing a couple of dollars. The lamp is mains powered with a standard cord, so give a moment's thought to where the nearest socket sits before settling on a position; a cable stretched across a walkway is the one thing that spoils an otherwise elegant object, and it is far easier to plan around at the outset than to disguise afterwards with clips and covers.

• Material: Iron construction
• Dimensions: 42.5 cm high, 28.5 cm shade width, 18 cm base diameter
• Bulb: E27 screw fitting - NOT included
• Power: Mains powered with standard cord
• Colours: Black, Green, White, Red
• Dimmable: Only with a dimmable bulb and compatible dimmer switch
• Suits: Desks, bedside tables, side tables, reading corners

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