The Best Lighting Solution for Your Kitchen Is A Lamp

One of the worst — and frankly, unflattering — affronts to a gentle mood is overhead lighting. Luckily, one of the easiest ways to warm up a clinical, boring kitchen is with a lovely little kitchen lamp:

The little kitchen lamp manifesto is simple: You likely have some form of mood lighting in your bedroom and living room, so why not give the kitchen the same treatment? I started seeing little kitchen lamps on my TikTok feed last spring, and the pull was immediate; these lamps were discreet, charming, oh, so calming.

Bsod glass mushroom lamp

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Pouring a cup of tea beside the warm glow of a glass mushroom lamp? Unmatched cottagecore behavior.

Urban Outfitters little glass table lamp

Prices taken at time of publishing.

A small circus tent? A jester’s nightlight? This glass table lamp comes in a variety of patterns, but the green striped option can be styled so many different ways (maximalist, East Coast traditional, Design Within Reach-core).

Granted, there will always be moments when I need the full-scale illumination of overhead lighting. According to a Harvard Medical School article, broad, cool lighting can even help us to focus more deeply, albeit with the risk of screwing up our circadian rhythms, and providing about as much ambiance as an H&R Block. Unless you are performing surgery, dusting for fingerprints, or trying to assemble a new pasta machine (that last one is fair), I can’t wrap my mind around why anyone would decree harsh, overhead lighting as the only lighting option for a kitchen. Not that you need to feel like you’re in a Rembrandt painting when you’re rolling out cookies, but I do think you deserve to pour a late-night cup of tea without jumpscaring your senses.

The lamp in my windowless kitchen apartment functions as a sort of lighthouse; it adds warmth to an otherwise hard-to-illuminate nook behind the sink, and provides me with just the right amount of light to make popcorn, pour cereal, put the dishes away, and just generally feel like a Beatrix Potter character.

Even as I write this, I write beside the glow of my little wood kitchen lamp, which I selected for its mix of materials (a wood base and a pleated, warm shade), its under 10-inch stature, and its affordable price. It reminds me of some of the fancy, pleated light fixtures I find myself drooling over from the Scandinavian brand HAY every few months.

Kunjoulam pleated lamp

Prices taken at time of publishing.

Pleats please: My own little kitchen lamp costs less than brunch for two, and took five minutes to assemble.

I think our collective need for more ambient lighting hit a new stride in COVID-19 lockdown periods, as evidenced by the booming candle economy and the rise of sunset lamps, the latter of which felt like a democratization of James Turrel-level ambiance. It comes as no surprise, then, that the kitchen has been the next frontier for curating cozy lighting options. There are more than 1,000 posts under the Instagram hashtag #kitchenlamp, and hundreds of TikTok videos praising the humble lamp’s ability to make a cozy space within a space. “I’ve had one 4 yrs in my kitchen,” writes one TikTok video commenter, “My favorite lil spot.”

Cmhsytke dimmable lantern

Prices taken at time of publishing.

For those in search of an Isamu Noguchi-inspired lamp, Amazon is home to some pretty impressive dopplegangers.

Figure out what your own version of the little kitchen lamp can be, whether you’re looking for a bite-size lamp like the ones above, or, say, a stained glass lamp stolen found in a Pizza Hut. In terms of low cost, high-reward investments for your kitchen and your peace of mind, a lovely little lamp sure can go the distance.