Good lighting at home can be transformative, whether that’s stringing up fairy lights in the bedroom, or punctuating the living room with soothing glows from floor and table lamps.
While we're into the effect of secondary lighting, navigating all those wires can be a pain, not to mention incredibly unsightly. In the worst case, too many of them will overload your plugs and pose a potential hazard.
Reminiscent of smokey jazz bars and spotted in every new restaurant opening up in the capital, a new type of lamp is making a play for a spot in your home: the cordless kind.
Infusing your chosen spot with a warming pool of light, these wireless designs are perfect for placing in areas with limited or non-existent mains output, as well as helping you trim down household energy use. As you’re only using them when needed there’s no need to leave them plugged in and on standby, known to be a hidden drain on power. Some are battery operated while others support USB recharging but almost all of them feature long-lasting LED bulbs to help them last even longer than the norm.
From romantic vintage styles to sleek modern looks, there are plenty of cordless lamps to welcome into your home and brighten up your day (or night).
Best cordless lamps at a glance
- Best for summer soirees: Original BTC Blossom lamp - £489, Original BTC
- Best for playfulness: Qeeboo Golden Brothers Tom table lamp - £222, LuisaViaRoma
- Best for looking good 24/7: House of Charcoal grey rechargeable table lamp - £129, House of
- Best for ambient lighting: MJ PREMIER Cordless Table Lamp - £27.99, Amazon
- Best for texture: Pauleen Pretty Glamour LED table lamp, battery - £28.99, Amazon
- Best for vibes: Metro Lane Braunstone Novelty Lantern - £14.99, Wayfair
- Best for romance: ACMHNC Cordless LED Battery Table Lamp - £39.89, Amazon
- Best for reading nooks: Hapfish Store Battery Operated Table Lamps for Living Room - £42.99, Amazon
- Best for dreamers: Mydethun 3D Moon Lamp with 5.9 Inch Wooden Base - £24.19, Amazon
- Best for elevating interiors: Pooky Sphynx rechargeable table lamp in white marble - £199, Pooky
- Best for designer vibes: Tom Dixon Stone Marble LED Portable Table Lamp, Stone - £230, LuisaViaRoma
- Best for shopping on a budget: Argos Home Ceramic Table Lamp - £9, Argos
If you like the idea of portable light exactly where and when you want it, you're in luck. We’re shining a spotlight on the best designs to buy now and give your home the warm, welcoming atmosphere you’ve been dreaming of.
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Pooky sphynx rechargeable table lamp in white marble
Best for: elevating interiors
White marble and gold are a match made in decor heaven. Pooky has taken the palette for its rechargeable table lamp, which, while expensive at just shy of £200 for the base alone, is one of the chicest renditions we've seen on the market. Pair with the brand's signature patterned lampshades or fit with one you've already got to bring new life to old treasure.
Buy now £199.00, Pooky
Tom Dixon Stone Marble LED Portable Table Lamp, Stone
Best for: designer vibes
Tom Dixon is a designer famous for not doing anything by halves, and his portable lamp offering is no exception. The stone, inspired by the same sort used to build India's Taj Mahal, rings around a golden orb, giving a floating effect. It's not just a work of art but functions for every day too, with a touch dimmer and up to nine-hours of battery life, which should be enough to see you through most winter nights.
Buy now £230.00, LuisaViaRoma
Original BTC Blossom lamp
Best for: summer soirees
While the momentum for cordless lamps gains traction, nice-looking styles are still hard to come by. Original BTC does things with a little more class with coloured bases and a fluted shade design that's IP44 rated, meaning you can use it outside for summer dining. Charged via a USB-C, a full battery will give you 20 hours of light.
Buy now £489.00, Original BTC
Qeeboo Golden Brothers Tom table lamp
Best for: playfulness
These whimsical characters won't fail to bring a smile to your face. Powered by a 1200 mAh battery, the LED lamps make ideal table lights, especially for meals eaten outdoors or where there isn't mains power for a plug. It comes with a charging cable and adaptor to keep the lights on.
Buy now £222.00, LuisaViaRoma
House of Charcoal grey rechargeable table lamp
Best for: looking good 24/7
A lamp that offers something to look at even when it’s turned off is a beautiful thing. It’s a work of art. This portable and rechargeable design is a collaboration between House of and Swoon, and sees a glowing ball sit within a charcoal glass bowl. The celestial look comes with a two-year guarantee.
Buy now £129.00, House of
MJ PREMIER Cordless Table Lamp
Best for: ambient lighting
Powered by two AAA batteries, this glass and metal hurricane-style lamp is an easy way to install light in dark spots without the need for an accessible plug point. The fact that the design comes with a 6h and 18h timer so you don't even need to remember to turn it off is a touch of genius.
Buy now £27.99, Amazon
Pauleen Pretty Glamour LED table lamp, battery
Best for: texture
Another glass design with a metal base, the chevron pattern adds a style element that works year-round. The battery-operated style makes a nice alternative to candles at the dinner table or ambient low light in the bedroom. Needs two AA batteries.
Buy now £29.00, Amazon
Metro Lane Braunstone Novelty Lantern
Best for: vibes
Casting a diffused glow over bookshelves and side tables, this is a cordless lamp for ambience more than reading or tasking. The grey frosted glass dials up the cosiness in any room that needs it. There's also a six-hour timer function, helpful if you want the light on and off automatically. Requires two AAA batteries.
Buy now £14.99, Wayfair
ACMHNC Cordless LED Battery Table Lamp
Best for: romance
Planning a romantic dinner? The last thing you want to worry about when you're ferrying courses in from the kitchen is tripping over wires. This table lamp bypasses that issue. It runs on batteries and can be dimmed, while the panelled shade and metal stand gives it a lovely vintage vibe.
Buy now £39.89, Amazon
Hapfish Store Battery Operated Table Lamps for Living Room
Best for: reading nooks
Sleek and simple, this tall table lamp floods the surface with illumination, offering a pool of light where you need it, whether you’re reading in your favourite socket-free nook or finishing up a WFH day. The brightness is adjustable to three settings and in the base is a rechargeable 8000mAh USB-powered battery so there’s no need to keep buying batteries. It even comes with a remote for easy operation.
Buy now £42.99, Amazon
Mydethun 3D Moon Lamp with 5.9 Inch Wooden Base
Best for: dreamers
Stargazers will adore this orb light which allows you to gaze at the moon, even on cloudy nights. Available in four sizes, the light sits on a wooden frame base and is an incredibly realistic rendering of our closest celestial body - it's been designed on astronomical data from NASA. Ideal for kids’ bedrooms and space geeks’ homes alike, the rechargeable lamp offers a range of colour and brightness settings. Once fully charged for two hours, it can last for eight hours straight. How’s that for star power?
Buy now £24.19, Amazon
Argos Home Ceramic Table Lamp
Best for: shopping on a budget
Cheap yet cheerful, Argos’ £9 cordless lamp is ideal for students wanting a cost-effective lighting fix. A gentle cream shade is married with a simple, modern design to lift the gloom.
Buy now £9.00, Argos
