The Best & Most Beautiful Desk Lamps in The World

Many of us spend thousands of hours sitting at a desk. Whether it’s at home, your home office or in a garish workplace devoid of any sense of design or aesthetics. But your desk, table, or bedside doesn’t have to be an ordinary space. It can be easily transformed into a place of beauty and just the right type of ambiance you’ll actually want to be bathed in by simply adding the right desk lamp.

It’s that ambiance that can set the mood for a more pleasant work, relaxation or reading experience. With the right light, coming from a source that isn’t simply functional, but also designed to fit with your modern decor, you can feel both more relaxed and inspired. This is the motivation behind our search for some of the best and most beautiful desk and table lamps the world has to offer. Let’s take a look at what we think are some of the most beautifully minimalist desk lamps available.

1. Naugatuck 18.5″ Desk Lamp

The unique shape and combination of materials of this desk lamp make for a beautiful item to adorn your desk and provide plenty of light. Shaped with a stylized cone shade and a moulded pedestal base, the lamp’s socket can accommodate an A-type bulb and is also LED compatible. The gooseneck arm allows you to point the light where it’s needed.

2. Lite Source – LS-306PS Halotech 29-Inch 8W LED Desk Lamp

Available in Black, Silver and Dark Black (cause apparently there are different shades of Black), this space-saving desk lamp from Lite Source is LED powered and I think it looks best in a shiny polished steel finish. With a nice, though not oversized heavyweight counter base, the lamp isn’t flimsy and won’t move when making adjustments to the arms. Although contemporary in its design, this lamp will feel right at home on most desks. 

3. Luxe – Cordless LED Desk Lamp

Minimalism is all about getting rid of the extraneous things you just don’t need. After all, we live in a wireless world, why should our lamps need any wires at all? That’s where the Luxe Cordless LED Desk lamp comes in. With a fully rechargeable battery that lasts up to 40 hours and a friendly USB plug, it’s very suitable for today’s modern office desks that scream for an uncluttered look and feel. Made with an aluminum and plastic body, this Luxe lamp offers three lighting modes with six levels of brightness.

4. Article – Leap Lamp

Sometimes all it takes to create a functional and beautiful object of impeccable design is simply getting the shape of the thing right. The shape is simply what makes this beautiful minimalist desk lamp work wonders. Finished in a gorgeous matte black and shiny copper layer, this LED compatible lamp has curves for days

5. BenQ – E-Reading LED Desk Lamp

Available in two different sizes (Desk Lamp) and (Swing Arm Desk Lamp – pictured above), this “E-Reading” LED Desk Lamp from manufacturer BenQ (more well known for creating budget LCD and LED monitors), is one of the most popular table lamps available. This is with good reason as it’s a lamp that’s been specifically designed to reduce monitor eye strain. In addition to offering an ambient light sensor that allows for automatic brightness adjustment, the BenQ also offers flicker-free technology and the ability to change from cool to warm light and anything in between with a simple twist of a knob.

6. Pablo Designs – PIXO Optical Desk Lamp

Yes, that’s a desk lamp. It’s minimalism distilled to its beautiful naked core. And before you ask, yes it comes in different colours than orange, but I’m particular to this finish. Designer Peter Stathis took an unconventional approach to create this lamp. It’s counter-intuitive in some way, yet still offers a gorgeous example of what a modern desk lamp can be. It’s 360-degree head and stem rotation coupled with 180-degree stem tilt allows for a wide range of flexible positions. Finally, if that’s not enough for your discerning taste, it also offers a built-in USB charging port in case you needed another one of those around in your desk life.

7. Brightech – Circle LED USB Table & Desk Lamp

It’s safe to say that this isn’t your conventional sort of desk lamp. And what it may lack in its ability to directly light things on your desk, it certainly makes up for in both it’s astonishing design and ability to create a conversation around it. Talk about creating ambiance. This is the type of lamp you’d typically find as a set-piece on the latest sci-fi show whose setting is a far-flung future. Both dimmable and with an additional USB charging port, this is the perfect lamp for anyone wanting to add a dash of sci-fi cool to their workspace.

8. IKON – Carlos Esc. Copper

The common use of a copper finish in desk lamps is very trendy these days. That includes this IKON lamp that includes a metal ball joint allowing you to direct the light emanating from this lamp in any direction.

9. Human Scale – NOVA

Humanscale’s NOVA Desk lamp isn’t exactly for the faint of heart when it comes to shelling out some money for a meticulously refined piece of art that also happens to double as a desk lamp. The LED array in this lamp creates a uniform light and can be adjusted to each user’s preference. With its striking, sculpted form, the NOVA is extremely power efficient as it only requires a mere 7 watts to deliver 440 lumens of light.

10. Globe Electric – Architect Spring Desk Lamp

There’s still something very appealing about a classic architect balanced swing arm in a desk lamp. It harkens back to the ’80s and 90’s when this style of desk lamp adorned many desks. With clean and simple lines this classic looking lamp is significant in size but also features a refreshingly small base requiring a small footprint. Globe has been making lamps for over 80 years so they know a thing or two about creating a quality product.

11. Koncept – Z-Bar Mini Gen 3 Desk Lamp

Function doesn’t have to come at the cost of form and the opposite is also true. That’s what makes the Z-Bar Mini Gen 3 Desk lamp pretty awesome. It’s a creative lighting solution for your desk that can be adjusted in nearly every direction. Made from Aluminum and plastic, this lamp can go from a very warm 3500 K to a cool 4500 K light and comes in six different colour options. Controls are minimalist by being built into a touch sensitive strip at the top of the lamp.

12. IKEA – FORSÅ Work Lamp

Yes, even IKEA can set the standard for beautiful. This classic style work lamp with an LED bulb is available in multiple colours and makes for a beautiful addition to any surface, including most desks.

13. Tomons – Wood Adjustable Head Desk Lamp

If a mixture of wood and steel is your sort of mix, this gorgeous desk lamp in a Scandinavian style from Tomons is a real standout. With an adjustable head and swinging arm, and beautifully integrated cord this LED desk lamp is available in two different colours and without a doubt is designed to feel right at home or at the office.

14. Pablo Designs – Giraffa

Never has there been a desk lamp made so artfully and tastefully to resemble a well-known animal as the Pablo Designs Giraffa. The 360 degree rotating shade along with an angled post make for a versatile lamp that will feel at home either on a desk, table or night-stand. The warm, and dimmable LED is rated for 50k hours like most other LEDs, is fully dimmable, and is made of a fine CNC machined aluminum which is available in three premium finishes: anodized copper, anodized black and gloss white, vaguely reminiscent of iPhone design.

15. Simple Designs – Bronson Antique Style Industrial Iron Lantern Desk Lamp

This sweet desk lamp exudes both a style of minimalism while playfully adopting an industrial look of yesteryear through a simple lantern aesthetic. Its clean lines and simplicity combined with an Edison style bulb will complement most places in your home or office. It’s a very beautiful and modern twist on an antique style and is available in four finishes including rose gold (copper), rustic matte white, flawless chrome or matte black. 

16. Guynn 22.5″ Desk Lamp

Sometimes what is required is a touch of elegance in the form of a minimalist desk lamp polished in a gold finish. This modern lamp provides a gorgeous accent to any desk or side table and draws the eye as more than just a piece of functional hardware. The tube shaped shade is made of 100% iron and resists chips and cracks while providing directional light in a stylish manner. 

17. Article – Axis Desk Lamp

Angles are what this desk lamp is all about. Clean, brutalist, and straight angles are the makeup of this object that is constructed from metal and painted with a matte finish. No-fuss, no muss, just pure modern design. 

18. Pablo Designs – Contour Table Lamp

And now we arrive at what is possibly my most cherished table/desk lamp on this list. From Pablo Designs, this is the Contour Table Lamp. When looking at it, the first question you might be asking yourself is… where is the bulb? It’s cleverly hidden warm LED is hidden within the frame of the lamp at the top which helps the lamp maintain its remarkably slender profile. Available in a variety of premium wooden and material finishes, this lamp is a perfect and inviting place to rest your books, precious objects or for charging your mobile device with integrated USB-A port. It’s not exactly cheap, but well worth the price. And the bonus is that the Contour line of lamps is also available in two other larger sizes for all of your lighting decor needs. 

19. IKON – Teo Amarillo

Perhaps this stunning lamp from IKON won’t be getting any points in the subtlety department any time soon, especially this yellow version, it is also available in more subtle black and grey versions. Regardless of your colour choice, this contemporary lamp with a somewhat masculine and industrial look has enough style to land on our list. 

20. Art + Interior – Nordic Multifunctional Table Lamp

This fascinating lamp redefines what can be thought of as a table or desk lamp. It, in fact, expands into a lantern style lamp or collapses into a slim desk lamp which increases its versatility and allows you to use it as a night lamp, a flashlight, a table lamp and even a portable lamp that can be hung using the built-in handle/stand.

21. Arne Jacobsen – AJ Table Lamp

This absolutely stunning and classing lamp was originally designed by mid-century and world-famous designer Arne Jacobsen in 1960 for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. Its form has withstood the test of time and it remains one of the most famous minimalist lamps in the world. Available in ten colours, this gorgeous lamp is for those looking to deck out their home in one of the finest pieces of lighting decor ever made. 

22. VIPP – Desk Lamp

It probably goes without saying that the average person won’t be spending $500 on a desk lamp. But if you’re one of the lucky few that has enough disposable income to consider this kind of lamp, the VIPP Desk Lamp might be what you need sitting on your desk. After all, this list is designed to showcase some of the best and most beautiful lamps in the world, not necessarily the cheapest. With 1539 precise hole perforations in the lampshade, this lamp allows a beautiful collage of light rays shine through its metal exterior.

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