A rattan or bamboo lamp is a poor bedside lamp for reading on its own. The woven shade scatters light into a soft, dappled glow, lovely for winding down but dim and uneven on a page. Pair it with a small directional light aimed at your book, and let the woven lamp light the room.
Can you read by a rattan or bamboo lamp?
You can, for a few minutes, but it is not what the lamp is built for. A woven shade works like a sieve for light. Some passes straight through the gaps, some bounces off the strands, and the result is a warm glow spread across the walls and ceiling with a pattern of small shadows. That spread is the whole appeal in a bedroom or living room. It is also why a page held under one looks slightly grey and patchy, sometimes with the weave pattern landing right across the text.
Reading asks for the opposite. You want light gathered onto a small area, arriving from beside or just behind you, with the bulb itself hidden from your line of sight. A good reading lamp has a shade that blocks most of the sideways light and sends it one way, often with a head you can angle. A rattan table lamp at pillow height, glowing in every direction, meets none of those tests.
The weave and the shape of the shade make a difference. Tight cane webbing lets less light out sideways than an open bamboo lattice, and a shade with a solid band or an open bottom pushes more of it downward. Those details move a woven lamp closer to useful, but they do not turn it into a task lamp. The honest setup is two lamps.
Ambient light vs reading light: what each lamp does
| Woven rattan or bamboo lamp | Reading or task light | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the light goes | All around, softened by the weave | One direction, onto the page |
| What you see of the bulb | A glow through the strands | Nothing: the shade or head hides it |
| Best for | Winding down, conversation, a night-time glow | Reading, homework, sewing, paperwork |
| Adjustable? | Rarely | Usually, by an arm, a swivel head or a clip |
| Where it sits | Where it looks best in the room | Beside or behind your shoulder |
How do you pair a woven lamp with a reading light?
Start with where you actually read, then give each of those spots one soft light and one focused one.
Reading in bed
Keep the rattan or bamboo lamp on the bedside table as your evening light and add a small directional light for the book. A wall sconce with a downward shade, a slim swing-arm lamp or a clip-on light fixed to the headboard all work, as long as the light reaches the page from the side and your partner is not in its path. If you are fitting sconces beside the bed, our bedside wall lamp guide covers mounting height and placement, so we will not repeat it here.
Once you settle in to read, dim or switch off the woven lamp. Two bright sources at pillow height means one of them is always shining towards your face.
On a sofa or armchair
This is where a floor lamp earns its place. Stand it just behind and to one side of your usual seat, so the light falls over your shoulder onto the page. The lower edge of the shade should sit around shoulder height when you are seated, so you see the lit page rather than the bulb. A woven table lamp on the side table then looks after the rest of the room.
At a desk or study table
For a desk, and especially for a child's study table, buy a proper adjustable desk lamp: a weighted base that will not tip, a head you can angle onto the book and a shade that hides the bulb. Akway does not make one, and we would rather say so than stretch a woven lamp into the role. Put the rattan or bamboo lamp on a shelf or the wall behind the desk, where it lifts the rest of the room so the desk is not the only bright patch. If that second lamp is going on a table, our table lamp size and placement guide has the proportions.
Keep the bulbs consistent
Put both lamps on the same bulb colour so the room does not look patchy. Warm white, around 2700K, suits a woven shade and still works for reading. If you prefer a whiter light on the page, our warm white vs cool white guide explains the trade-off.
Which Akway lamps come closest to a reading light?
None of our lamps has an adjustable head or a fully solid shade, so none is a true task lamp. These four send more of their light in one direction than a typical all-woven shade, which makes them the better half of a two-lamp setup.
A cane cone shade on a slim rod, open at the bottom, so the light washes down the wall beside the bed instead of spreading evenly.
Rs 2,099
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A fabric band across the front of this cane sconce sends most of the light up and down the wall, so less of it shines straight out at the bed.
Rs 1,699
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Rattan Cane Floor Lamp - Abriana
Solid black bands above and below a single cane band direct the light up and down, closer to a classic reading floor lamp beside a sofa.
Rs 5,999
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A tiered cane and fabric shade, 45 cm across at the top and 30 cm at the bottom, on a 150 cm stand for the corner beside a reading chair.
Rs 7,999
Shop NowPair any of them with a directional reading light and both jobs are covered. The study room wall lights collection has more sconces sized for a desk or a bedside wall.
What to look for in the reading light itself
- A direction you can change. A swivel head, flexible neck or swing arm lets you aim the light at the page rather than your face.
- A shade that hides the bulb. From where you sit or lie, you should see the lit page, not the bulb.
- A switch within reach. In bed, one you can reach without sitting up; at a desk, one on the base or the cord.
- A stable base for children. On a kid's study table, choose a weighted base that stays put when an elbow knocks it.
- A quiet finish. A plain black, brass or wood-tone task lamp sits comfortably beside rattan and leaves the woven lamp as the piece people notice.
