The Small-Space-Friendly Find That Instantly Cozied Up My Living Room

There are a lot of surefire ways to add cozy vibes to your space with minimal effort, like hanging curtains, draping some extra soft blankets over your seating, or adding a candle or two. One of my favorite ways, though, is to play with lighting. Specifically, to add more lamps so that I can avoid turning on the dreaded overhead light (the “Big Light”).

Plugging in a fresh table or floor lamp is just about the easiest upgrade you can make, but there are times when even that can be a challenge. In my 1956 home, the outlets aren’t necessarily in the most useful or accessible places. Sometimes that can be solved with a strategically placed extension cord, but other times, it’s not quite so easy. And while it would be relatively affordable to hire an electrician to add outlets to our drywalled spaces, we have a giant stretch of our living space that has a stone wall — making it much harder (and more expensive!) to add or relocate wiring.

In spaces like that, I’ve started to hunt for wire-free lighting options that I can use to add a little ambience without being restricted to locations near outlets. There are plenty of battery-operated options out there (and you can always DIY your own cordless lamp, too), but I’ve recently found a favorite from our Small/Cool Design Awards winners: the Humber glass mushroom lamp in the gorgeously understated “pink moon” color.

The pink-y, beige-y swirls on this mushroom lamp cast the warmest glow that’s perfect for adding a little mood lighting to literally any space in my home. While you could certainly use it as a little bit of reading light in bed, I think it’s best suited for areas like entryways, living rooms, and dining rooms, where you might want to add the feel of a flickering candle without any of the responsibility of babysitting one.

Unlike some other cordless lights, this mushroom lamp is battery-operated rather than rechargeable. This might be a deal-breaker for some, but for me — a person who routinely forgets to recharge things before they’re needed — it’s actually kind of perfect, since replacing the two AAA batteries is a lot quicker than waiting for a rechargeable battery to re-juice.

This little lamp has been a game-changer in my living room, where there are only a couple of outlets and the overhead lights are screamingly bright. I have a traditional floor lamp along the wall, but in the center of the room on my coffee table — a space that’s an outlet dead zone — the mushroom lamp offers a little bit of cozy lighting that’s completely transformed the whole space. And when I want to bring that vibe to, say, my dining room, it couldn’t be easier to pick up this lamp and carry it somewhere new. The best part? Even when it’s off, this lamp looks like art, which makes it the most versatile piece of decor in my home.