I could easily list some designer favourites, but instead, let’s talk budget with my 10 of the best retro floor lamps on the high street.
Because the high street really is that good these days. Admittedly, we’ve never had so many designer reissues to choose from, but the problem with those designer pieces is often the price. If you can afford one, buy one. Because the icons of midcentury modern design, even as reissues, tend to hold their value.
But not everyone can afford to buy the pricey pieces. So, with that in mind, I’m looking at the best on the high street for various product styles – kicking off with floor lamps.
Floor lamps are functional and great for reading lights and mood lighting (depending on what you go for). But they also create a design statement for the room. High-street designers are clever enough these days to create lights that look like vintage originals—but for far less cash.
So here are my 10 favourites right now, adding retro style to your home without emptying your bank account.
1. Okensand rocket floor lamp at Ikea
I have to start with this one, as it offers ridiculous value.
I bought a couple of vintage rocket floor lamps at auction a couple of years back. They were reasonably priced, and they look amazing. But I would still have this in my home.
Very much mood lighting and a statement design (without the price tag), the lamp uses a white lampshade stretching like a pleated skirt down towards the three legs produced from solid beech.
I have featured the handmade retro rocket lamps by Harvest Moon, which are pricier and worth a look. But for just £35, you can pick this one up from Ikea right now.
Find out more at the Ikea website
2. M&S retro Dome floor lamp
There’s a strong retro vibe and a Verner Panton influence about this design from M&S, which is available in a choice of two colours.
I prefer this strong blue, but there is a more subtle and understated grey finish as well if that’s more your thing. Very stylish and very simplistic in design (no bad thing), with the slim stem rising up from the round base to that bell/dome top.
All in metal and all oozing modernist cool. Priced at just £45 too.
Find out more at the M&S website
3. Amaya 1950s-style floor lamp at La Redoute
Something of a modern-day retro classic, this one comes and goes from the La Redoute range, but right now, it’s in – and discounted.
The design is popular because it has a cool, midcentury European vibe about it. Not too fussy, but doing enough to catch the eye. Which is mainly down to those colourful shades hanging jauntily from the metal frame.
Currently discounted to £82.50, it’s the perfect addition to a midcentury modern home.
Find out more at the La Redoute website
4. Merisa 1970s space age floor lamp at La Redoute
This is a second entry from this retailer, and it is for a good reason. This one could easily pass for a 1970s original.
That’s not a flippant comment – just look at the tulip base, the metal frame and the opaline glass globe shade, all coming together to create the perfect 1970s floor lamp. But without having to pay high auction prices or the cost of a designer reissue. This is exactly why the high street is so good today.
Another currently discounted, it sells for £107.25 right now.
Find out more at the La Redoute website
5. Elements Bennett 3-light floor lamp at Dunelm
There is a table version of this in orange that also looks the part. But the floor version is the one here in green.
It has a good retro look, with a touch of pop art thrown in for good measure. The chrome frame is pretty standard, but those green circular lights brighten up a room even when not turned on. And it’s a light that will get people talking, too.
Not bad for £129.
Find out more at the Dunelm website
6. Habitat x Scion Lohko floor lamp
It’s one of the pricier picks, but I selected it because it’s a designer collaboration without the price tag that usually entails.
It’s also a little different. Wood rather than the metal that’s dominant in this rundown (the stem is carved from solid ash), as well as a two-tier linen shade in a trademark retro Scion pattern. That’s the big selling point for me.
There is a code on the site right now for 20 per cent off the list price, which is still a reasonable £140.
Find out more at the Habitat website
7. LC chrome arch floor lamp by George at Asda
There are variations on this theme all over the place. But none quite as cheap as this one.
The price is the big selling point, but this is still a good retro design and a functional one too. The look is very much inspired by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni’s 1960s Arco floor lamp, but at a tiny fraction of the price of a reissue.
That’s because there’s no marble base here – this is a chrome/metal design, with the curved stem holding the round shade, which in turn targets light down on you. So great as a reading light.
Just £30 for one of these.
Find out more at the George at Asda website
8. Limited edition Habitat 60 Bobby floor lamp
Let’s move away from the 1960s and 1970s and go for something a little more in keeping with the 1980s. And a limited edition as well.
Interestingly, this was an early noughties design at Habitat, but was brought back as part of its 60th anniversary celebration. The colours are the difference here, with shades reminiscent of the 1980s and a design that would have fit with that decade, too.
Functional, eye-catching and a limited edition. So good value at £75.
Find out more at the Habitat website
9. Toledo burnt orange retro floor lamp at Pagazzi
A round-up of retro lighting isn’t complete unless there’s something orange in it. You might recall I even did a 20 of the best orange table lamps round-up not long back. But this is a floor variation.
It’s quite a simple design, which might be what you are looking for. I love the orange shade, as well as the tulip base, with a fairly straightforward shade sitting on top of the stem.
£139 is the price, with a matching table version also available.
Find out more at the Pagazzi Lighting website
10. Girevole 1970s-style spotlight floor lamp
There’s a whole range of these for the wall, desk and more. But this multi-spotlight is the one that works for me.
It’s a floor lamp of course, one that has that 1970s essential of multiple lamps that you can point wherever you like. So great for mood lighting and for some targeted light when reading as well.
The lamp has a satin nickel finish, three adjustable diffusers, a polypropylene textile-sheathed electrical cable, and a dimmable switch. But it’s also the priciest of all the lights I have featured, even when discounted. This one sells for £224.
