We aren’t the first—and certainly won’t be the last—to say: There’s nothing worse than overhead lighting. The best portable lamps, on the other hand, can lift the flush mount curse upon your apartment and offer a warm, diffused glow wherever they’re placed. They illuminate small corners and surfaces where a floor lamp would be overkill or an outlet is miles away, all while tackling issues of ambient light and functionality. Plus, they’re a fun design accent that can fit in pretty much every space. Below, we lined up our favorites that consider style, dimmability, battery life, and, most importantly, do wonders for the “color temperature” (a.k.a. that warm glow quality you’re after). Wine and dine in the low, portable light of design staples like the Flowerpot by Verner Panton and Louis Poulsen’s Panthella, or equally chic picks from the likes of Anthropologie and Rejuvenation.

Our Top Picks for the Best Portable Lamps

Verner Panton’s Flowerpot, created in 1968, is one of the most recognizable lamp silhouettes on the planet thanks to its hemispheric shape, emblematic of the ’60s flower power attitude. The piece is a staple we’ve seen in countless AD homes throughout the years—from Greenwich Village to northeastern France to Greenpoint—and commerce director Rachel Fletcher even recently spotted Flowerpot pendants upstate at Little Cat Lodge, “proof that you can place it in a super modern setting or a rustic mountain inn.” Fletcher mentioned her love for the iconic design for our table lamps piece, which has a lot to do with its playfulness and modern quality that “epitomizes cheer,” says Fletcher. “The Flowerpot exceeded my expectations functionally, and from a style perspective,” she says. “I really despise overhead lighting, so I keep it on my desk when I need a little extra warmth, especially in the depths of winter in NYC, and it always does the trick.”

The hand-spun brass Petite Gemma Lamp is the result of a years-long collaboration between Brooklyn lighting studio In Common With and designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen. It riffs on the Gemma’s original glass design in a metallic finish that’s both outdoor-friendly and weatherproofed. But its defining feature is the mushroom-like lampshade, which balances whimsical, clownlike button details with the heavy, industrial feel of the brass material. Commerce writer Julia Harrison says the lamp “altered the entire ambiance of my room,” and also appreciated its impressive nine-hour battery life that lasted many evenings without needing to be recharged. Otherwise, she says the diminutive lamp also feels perfectly sized and perfectly designed to takes the humble bedside or desk lamp from perfunctory to designer.

The Panthella, by Scandinavian lighting brand Louis Poulsen, is a design that’s been celebrated since its launch in the ’70s, spawning many more mushroom lamps in the decades since. It was recently reinvented for its fiftieth anniversary in a portable variation with a hidden USB-C port for charging. The lamp stands out for its unique shape—commerce director Rachel Fletcher calls it “one of the quintessential ’70s space age silhouettes”—with a flared base and dimmable acrylic shade that was dreamed up by iconic Danish designer Verner Panton. “It sheds a great glow,” says Fletcher, “and the color is really special and not something you see every day—it was almost impossible to pick between all the fun variations,” which include hues like orange, burgundy, and a completely chromed-out finish.

Small but mighty, the Poldina lamp leans harder into functionality than expressive design, but without making an eyesore of itself. Harrison has this rechargeable table lamp in a sage matte, and finds it to be the perfect task lighting for her desk setup or a little mise en place work in the kitchen. With its thin, cordless, and neutral shade, the Poldina “blends shyly and seamlessly into all setups that require a little, but not too much, light,” she notes.

This sleek plastic design speaks volumes about your good taste (which is so refined, even the fictional Roy family from Succession own them). Also featured in many of our home tours, this Flos iteration was brought to life in 2018 by design duo Barber & Osgerby for the London Design Museum as an homage to a hatted hotel porter (hence the name).

Commerce director Rachel Fletcher describes it as her “gateway drug into tiny light fixtures,” one which emits a soft candlelit glow, and makes a stunning statement on an end table or tucked into a bookshelf. Fletcher affirms that because it’s so small and chic, you really can place the Bellhop anywhere that needs a visual boost. “It’s really a handy party trick to put one on an outdoor table–instant mood elevator.”

At the “height of the mushroom lamp fever a few years ago,” associate commerce editor Lori Keong caved and bought the Setago. This mushroom lamp riffs on the playful design we love in the Flos and the Panthella, but its tricolor palette has a leg up on the monochrome look. With a discreet gold dimmer that lets you toggle between various light levels for cultivating the right ambience, or what Keong calls “diffused mood lighting,” this model is “a great sidekick to have on your nightstand for ambiance when you have guests over and don’t want the harsh overhead lights to ruin the vibe.” A little gold knob on the front gives you three dimmable settings to choose your ambiance.

This modern interpretation of the traditional green banker’s lamp takes the curved emerald shade and does it up in oxblood lacquered steel. Senior commerce editor Nashia Baker adores hers, which “floats between my office desk and my bedroom depending on which space could use a boost of soft lighting.” She said the bold shade and polished look of the lamp complement her moody home decor style, and that the three dimmable settings are versatile for different times of the day. “On the highest setting, it lights up small nooks in my home brightly without worry of straining my eyes if I’m reading. The medium and low are great if I want a soft ambient light, almost the same brightness as if I lit a candle,” says Baker. For a home office that needs a little edge, or at least something at least less straightforward than the ubiquitous Luxo task light, this one’s got your name written on it.

This best-selling Rejuvation design stays faithful to the classic table lamp silhouette with a drum shade and a top-located switch that offers three dimmable settings. Commerce producer Lauren Arzbaecher, whose bedroom is full of green accents, said “the Juniper colorway perfectly matched my existing pieces—and looked right at home next to my houseplants.” The energy-saving LED fixture softly glows as a bedside lamp or can deliver ambiance in place of candles for a low-lit dinner. The earthy, neutral color palette of the Makar makes it a great option for those who lean into muted home decor, or want a more playful take on traditional task lamps. “The colorwashed design and minimal silhouette makes it feel like more of an art piece than just a way to add more light to a space,” says Arzbaecher.

This pint-size design, which Ameico characterizes as a “glowing beetle caught under the shade,” feels like an update to olden day kerosene lamps: A frosted glass shade perches atop a gleaming metal base. The design skews slightly more camping-friendly than proper home decor, and yet Harrison has it displayed in her foyer, at the end of her aforementioned super long hallway. She notes that it would also be perfectly suited to light up an all-glass house in the deep woods, or a super-modern Danish dining room. If you do find yourself out in the woods, you’ll find that the lamp is very energy-efficient—a six-hour charge yields up to 140 hours of outdoor lighting, and it offers three dimmable settings too.