Help me find a cordless lamp

January 2, 2012 9:18 PM

Help me find a hallway table lamp that requires no electricity

Our hallway has no electrical outlet and is rather long and dark. We have an overhead light that you can turn on, but I'd really like to put a lamp in the hallway that gives off a cozier light. Rather than running an extension cord all the way down the hall from the living room, I'm looking for a table lamp that I can is battery powered (or otherwise doesn't use electricity) that also gives off a nice cozy non-harsh light. I had a lamp that was working ok, but it's LED and gives off harsh light. Is there anything good out there that would be good? I love this one but it's $189:

Bonus points for looking cute and homey.

posted by biscuits to home & garden (9 answers total)

Would solar work for you?
posted by snowjoe at 9:22 PM on January 2, 2012

In my last place I had a really awful overhead light in the living room that I fixed up by getting an outlet that screwed into the lightbulb socket and plugging some silk-covered swag lamps into them. It gave off a much prettier light, and I could still turn the lamp on and off with the wall switch.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 9:45 PM on January 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

House of Troy makes battery-powered art lamps. I bought a piano lamp from them that I am happy with. If you can go with a wall sconce or art lamp, they also suggest getting putting in a clock outlet or similar electrical wiring arrangement, to broaden your choices.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:49 PM on January 2, 2012

How about a hurricane lamp or an oil lamp?
posted by hydrophonic at 10:26 PM on January 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

How about replacing the ceiling light with a track and a dimmer?
posted by rhizome at 11:14 PM on January 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

You could pay an electrician $75 to install an outlet, buy a cheap lamp, and have almost $100 left over compared to that lamp. (Obviously, it would be even cheaper to DIY, but most people don't have the comfort level to do electrical work; the cost to pay someone to add an outlet is usually very low.)
posted by Forktine at 2:21 AM on January 3, 2012 [3 favorites]

This place has a variety of battery-powered lights with different looks. If you look beyond strictly lamps, you could put the LED branches in a vase, or you could get a string of fairy lights.
posted by cabingirl at 7:52 AM on January 3, 2012

BTW, a word on hydrophonic's suggestion: oil lamps are incredibly safe. Lamp oil has a high combustion point, and so is far more likely to snuff out when tipped over. It's almost a certainty if it's broken - despite all the Hollywood depictions you've seen, you can throw a full lamp at a corner, shatter it, and spend the rest of the day throwing lit matches to no effect.

Seriously.
posted by IAmBroom at 9:29 AM on January 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

How long is your hallway? A quick googling suggests that if it's longer than 10 feet then it's not up to code if it doesn't have an outlet. So seconding forktine's suggestion.
posted by symbollocks at 10:34 AM on January 3, 2012