Working from home ruined a lot of British spare rooms. The desk went in under the old ceiling light, the monitor went against the window, and now there is a headache by four o'clock and a shadow across the keyboard.
Lighting a desk is not difficult, but it is different from lighting anywhere else in a house, because you are looking at a screen that produces its own light.
On this page
- Why a screen changes everything
- Where the desk lamp goes
- The numbers
- The screen, the window and reflections
- The room around the desk
- Video calls
- Temperature: cool by day, warm by night
- No room for a desk lamp
- Eye strain: a short checklist
- In short
- Common questions
Why a screen changes everything
When you read paper, you need light on the page. When you read a screen, the screen already provides its own, and what you need is light on everything else.
The enemy is contrast. A bright screen in a dark room forces the eye to keep re-adapting, which is what produces the four o'clock headache. The goal is a room bright enough that the screen does not stand out as a glowing rectangle, with no light source reflected in the glass.
Where the desk lamp goes
Three rules, in order of how much difference they make:
- Opposite your writing hand. Right-handed: lamp on the left. Left-handed: lamp on the right. Otherwise your own hand shadows whatever you are writing on.
- The light source 40 to 50cm above the desk surface, which for a standard 75cm desk puts it at 115 to 125cm from the floor. Higher and it spills into your eyes; lower and it lights a dinner plate.
- Beside the screen, never behind it. A lamp behind the monitor puts a light source directly in your field of view, which is precisely what you are trying to avoid.
An adjustable head matters more than anything decorative here: the LED Desk Lamp dims, shifts temperature and carries a USB socket, and the Gold Desk Lamp does the same with more presence on a visible desk. If the desk is in a living room or a bedroom and has to look like furniture rather than equipment, the Brass Table Lamp at 51cm and the Bamboo Desk Lamp both hide the bulb properly.
The numbers
| What | Figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Light source above the desk | 40 – 50cm | 115 – 125cm from the floor on a 75cm desk |
| Desk lamp output | 400 – 600 lumens | More than this and the screen looks dim by contrast |
| Room total | 1,500 – 2,500 lumens | Across two or three sources |
| Task temperature, daytime | 4000K | On the lamp only |
| Room temperature | 2700K | Ceiling and any other fitting |
| CRI | 90+ | Essential if you edit images or appear on camera |
Most people over-light the desk and under-light the room. It should be the other way round.
The screen, the window and reflections
Three positions, and only one of them works.
- Window behind the screen — you spend the day looking into daylight with a dark monitor in front of it. The worst option.
- Window behind you — daylight reflects off the screen straight back at you. The second worst.
- Window to the side of the desk — correct. Daylight arrives across the desk, nothing reflects, nothing glares.
The same applies to your ceiling light: if you can see it reflected in the screen, it is in the wrong place or the screen is. Tilting the monitor down five degrees usually solves it in a second.
The room around the desk
A desk lamp alone in a dark room is the setup that causes eye strain. The room needs a base level so the screen is not the brightest thing in it.
- A ceiling fitting at 2700K, positioned so it is not reflected in the screen. In a spare room, something quiet: the Ring Chandelier or the Circular LED Chandelier.
- Or an adjustable spotlight bar, aimed at the walls rather than the desk: the 4-Head Foldable Bar.
- A floor lamp in the corner, which lifts the whole room without adding anything to the desk. The White 2-Head Floor Lamp at 165cm has two adjustable heads, and the Nordic Floor Lamp bends over a chair for reading away from the screen.
The layering principle is identical to a sitting room, and set out in full in how to light a living room. Everything for a desk is in home office lighting.
Video calls
Four things, and they cost nothing:
- Light from in front, at face height. A lamp beside the screen, angled at you rather than at the desk.
- Two sources rather than one, at slightly different angles, to cancel the hard shadow down one side of your face.
- Nothing bright behind you. A window at your back turns you into a silhouette that no camera can correct.
- CRI 90 or above. Low-CRI light is what makes people look grey on camera.
A cordless lamp is useful here because it can be moved for a call and put back afterwards: the Cordless Desk Lamp dims by touch and needs no socket.
Temperature: cool by day, warm by night
The home office is the one room in a house where cool white belongs — and only on the desk.
4000K on the lamp during the working day genuinely helps concentration. 2700K everywhere else, so that when you switch the desk lamp off at six the room becomes a room again. That switch, at the end of the day, matters more in a spare bedroom than anywhere: it is the only thing separating work from home.
A lamp that shifts temperature does both jobs: the LED Desk Lamp and the LED Floor Lamp both switch between settings. The full argument by room is in choosing colour temperature.
No room for a desk lamp
Small desks, and desks that are really a dining table, need the light off the surface entirely.
- A wall light above and to the side, mounted 120 to 140cm from the floor so it clears the desk. The Adjustable Reading Sconce swings out and folds back.
- A clip-free floor lamp reaching over the desk from behind the chair, on the side opposite your writing hand.
- A rechargeable lamp, moved on and off the desk as needed: the cordless range exists for exactly this.
Eye strain: a short checklist
If your eyes ache by mid-afternoon, work through these in order:
- Is the room darker than the screen ? Add ambient light.
- Can you see any light source reflected in the screen ? Move it, or tilt the monitor.
- Is a window behind or in front of the screen ? Turn the desk 90 degrees.
- Is the desk lamp on your writing-hand side ? Move it across.
- Is the lamp brighter than 600 lumens ? Dim it.
- Do the lights flicker at low brightness ? That is a dimmer problem: see why do LED lights flicker.
In short
- Desk lamp opposite your writing hand.
- Light source 40 – 50cm above the desk, beside the screen, never behind it.
- Lamp output 400 – 600 lumens; room total 1,500 – 2,500.
- Window to the side of the desk, never in front or behind.
- 4000K on the lamp by day, 2700K in the room.
- Video calls: light from in front, two sources, CRI 90+.
Common questions
Where should a desk lamp be placed ?
On the side opposite your writing hand — left for right-handers — with the light source 40 to 50cm above the desk surface, and beside the screen rather than behind it.
How many lumens does a desk lamp need ?
400 to 600 lumens. More than that and the screen starts to look dim by comparison, which causes more eye strain than too little light does. The figures for every room are in how many lumens do I need.
What colour temperature is best for a home office ?
4000K on the desk lamp during the working day, and 2700K for the ceiling and any other fitting in the room. Lighting the whole room at 4000K makes a spare bedroom feel like an office at ten at night.
Should my desk face a window ?
No. A window in front of the screen makes you look into daylight all day, and a window behind you reflects off the screen. Put the window to the side of the desk.
How do I stop screen glare from my lights ?
Look at the screen with it switched off: anything you can see reflected in it is in the wrong place. Move the fitting, tilt the monitor down about five degrees, or choose a shade that conceals the bulb.
What is the best lighting for video calls ?
Two soft sources in front of you at face height, at slightly different angles, with nothing bright behind you and bulbs of CRI 90 or above. A lamp beside the screen angled at your face is enough.
How do I light a desk with no space for a lamp ?
An adjustable wall light mounted 120 to 140cm from the floor on the side opposite your writing hand, a floor lamp reaching over from behind, or a rechargeable lamp you put on the desk only when you need it.
Turn the desk before you buy anything
Nine times out of ten, the first fix is free: rotate the desk so the window is to the side, and move the lamp to the other hand. Then see what is still missing.
Send us a photo of your desk and where the window is at contact@thelightheritage.com. We answer every message ourselves.
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