Glow lamps are among the harder things to choose online, because a photograph of one unlit tells you almost nothing about what it does at nine in the evening in a British living room.
Here is what each colour actually behaves like, and how the three forms differ.
The three forms first
Ours come in three shapes, and the difference matters more than people expect.
The laughing Buddha on a round stand is the cheerful one, with a full rounded form that produces a broad even glow. It reads as an object with personality when lit.
The meditation Buddha on an oval stand is the calm one, a seated figure with more defined detail, which throws more shadow within the piece and reads as a lit sculpture rather than a lamp.
The Buddha bust on an oval stand is the most sculptural, being a head and shoulders form, and it reads as a piece of art that happens to be lit.
Sky blue
The coolest and calmest of the range. In a dark room it produces a soft, slightly aquatic light that reads as restful rather than warm.
It suits bedrooms above everything, where a warm light can feel too much like an invitation to stay awake. It also works well in a bathroom, and in any room with a cool palette of greys, blues or greige, which covers a great many British interiors.
The sky blue meditation Buddha is the version of this most people choose for a bedside.
Lavender crackle
The crackle glaze finish is the significant part here, since it breaks the light into a pattern rather than emitting it evenly. That produces texture in the glow, which is what stops these lamps reading as a plain light source.
Lavender sits between warm and cool, which makes it the most versatile of the range. It suits bedrooms, hallways and living rooms alike, and it works with both warm and cool room palettes rather than committing to either.
If you want one lamp for a room you have not decided about, this is the safe choice. Available as a laughing Buddha, a meditation Buddha and a Buddha bust.
Cherry crackle
Warmer and considerably more present. A cherry glow in a dark room is a strong colour rather than a background one, and it changes the character of the whole space.
It suits living rooms and hallways, where a definite colour is welcome, and rooms with warm palettes of terracotta, wood and warm neutrals. It is less suited to a bedroom for anyone who wants light to disappear rather than announce itself.
The cherry crackle Buddha bust is the most dramatic combination in the range.
Dragonfruit
The boldest. A vivid pink glow that is unambiguously a statement rather than ambient lighting.
It suits a room that already has personality: a study, a den, a young person's room, a space with strong colour elsewhere. It is a poor choice for a room intended to feel restful and an excellent one for a room intended to feel alive.
Choose it deliberately rather than because the photograph looked striking, since it will define the room it sits in after dark.
Molten lava
Deep orange and amber, closest to firelight of anything in the range. That association is the whole appeal: it reads as warmth in the way a fire does, which is a genuinely useful quality in a British winter.
It suits living rooms and snugs particularly well, and it pairs naturally with candles rather than competing with them.
How much light these actually give
Worth setting expectations. These are ambient lamps rather than task lighting. They will not let you read, and they are not intended to.
What they do is give a dark corner a point of interest and enough light to move around comfortably, which in a British winter evening is the difference between a room that feels closed and one that feels settled.
Where to put one
Not in the centre of a room, where an ambient light has nothing to define. In a corner, on a shelf, at the end of a hallway or beside a bed, where a pool of light against surrounding dimness is the effect.
Away from a television, which competes and wins. And close enough to a socket that the cable does not cross a walkway, which is the practical constraint that decides most placements.
Our full glow lamp range covers all three forms in the colours above, and our guide to lighting a statue covers the alternative of lighting a plain piece externally.
Questions people ask
Which glow lamp colour suits a bedroom?
Sky blue, which is the coolest and most restful. Lavender crackle also works well, being between warm and cool. Dragonfruit and cherry are livelier than most people want at bedtime.
What does the crackle finish do?
It breaks the light into a pattern rather than emitting it evenly, which puts texture into the glow and stops the lamp reading as a plain light source.
Which colour is the safest choice?
Lavender crackle, which sits between warm and cool and works with both warm and cool room palettes rather than committing to either.
Are these bright enough to read by?
No, and they are not meant to be. They are ambient lamps that give a dark corner a point of interest and enough light to move around comfortably.
What is the difference between the three shapes?
The laughing Buddha on a round stand glows broadly and reads as cheerful. The meditation Buddha throws more internal shadow and reads as a lit sculpture. The Buddha bust is the most sculptural of the three.
