Torchiere lights

The torchiere light is usually a standing lamp supported by a central pole with a dish-shaped torchiere lamp shade that faces up. The parameters that can be controlled in the manufacture of a torchiere shade are broadly the width of the top, as well as the height. The other features of the lamp shade are the profile, i.e. how it looks when you slice the shade along a diameter, the colors of the glass, the surface designs etc.

The word torchiere lamp shade probably conflates the meaning of the word with two other words. Really, the fact that a lamp is "standing" often means that it gets called "torchiere", and the fact that the lamp shade is an upward facing dish has also come to mean that it's a "torchiere". In general, torchieres can also mean something like a wall torchiere, which is a light held up by a central rod or pole support but hangs on the wall.

The Halogen Torchiere Floor Lamp

The most common types of torchieres are halogens, but fluorescents and incandescents are also found scattered. Halogen torchiere floor lamps are highly favored in some circles because they not only are brighter, but also are adjustable in brightness because the same filament can be tuned to different intensities. Incandescents have multiple filaments and discrete settings for brightness, in contrast to the continual modulation afforded by the halogen bulb. The problem with the halogen torchiere floor lamps is that they are disproportionately linked to causing dorm room and home fires. The halogen bulb burns at much higher temperatures which means things ignite quicker and more out of control compared to other bulbs. Most often drapes and curtains near the lamp come too near inadvertently. The result is that halogens have been banned in dorm rooms, and retailers have reduced their stock possibly due to reduced demand and also fear of legal recriminations. The fluorescent torchiere continue to be widely available. Because the fluorescent bulbs are larger than halogen bulbs, the dish must be deeper to hide it. Halogens and fluorescents use traditional torchiere lamp shades.

Wall Torchiere

The standing torchiere is not the only kind of torchere light possible. A variant exists which hangs on the wall. Because it's supported by a part of the house or building, the central pole doesn't need to be very long. In fact, the support of the wall torchiere is often not pole-like at all but can be ornate designs. The wall torchiere has also double or triple configurations so multiple lights can emanate from the same fixture. For these, the torchiere lamp shade is often much smaller and need not be dish like. A small globe or cup about 4-6 inches in diameter usually be sufficient to accomodate the bulb and be small enough to fit on a wall-mounted fixture.