the amount of lamps you have is not enough lamps

this is the lamp post

you cannot fuck around here
with the lamp situation

look if you want better ambiance you need more lamps
you also probably need more rugs and pillows, probably you need more art, definitely you need more plants, you might need more books

but you definitely need more lamps

I have met very few people who have an adequate amount of lamps in their homes

listen.

you cannot rely on overhead lighting
most of the time, in most situations, you should turn off overhead lighting entirely and use standing lamps, or lamps on tables

if the only lighting you have in your home is overhead lighting, then you absolutely do not have enough lamps, because the number of lamps you have is currently zero

if when you turn off the overhead lights that come with your apartment or house, there is no way to get more light because there is nothing else to turn on because you have no lamps, then there are not enough lamps

“but I have perfectly fine overhead lighting”

has anybody ever gone into your home and gone “whoa you have really nice ambiance here”

or “oh you have really great lighting”

if not, then no, you do not already have an adequate solution for the specific problem I am describing

which is to make your home have something special
that makes people feel nice
that makes them want to stick around
that makes them want to be there, when they are sick
that makes you want to be there, when you are sick

If in this era of infinite electricity and electrical components you are not ambiance-maxxing and able to quickly go from needing to read a bunch of technical printouts, to being able to vibe, then you do not have enough lamps

I had a guy curl up on my couch instead of going home when he was feeling sick, because it was really nice for him to stay. He had a big house. He had family that was waiting for him. But he was feeling sick, and he curled up on this couch in my small living room, and he laid there, peacefully, until his family called him asking where he is, and then he went “holy shit” and drove back home.

how do you know if you have adequate lighting?
how do you know if you are “already doing it right?”

basically everybody has inadequate lighting
and so if you actually have adequate lighting, it would stand out and people will be complimenting you

they will tell you — “whoa your apartment has aura.”
or
“wow you have really great lamps”
or
“where did you get that lamp?”
or
“I want to keep hanging out here and doing activities.”
it will NOT be subtle

A lot of standard lighting installations — they flicker

The light flickers in a way that you almost certainly are tuning out and becoming hardened against because if you actually paid attention to it it would drive you into madness

You can start with this
It is cheap, robust, steel, battery-powered. You can can move it around different rooms, see what it looks like, see how it makes you feel. You can see what kinds of things it stirs in you, what feels the same, what feels new or different

do no start with an expensive new lamp right away, because you will be confused. you want to notice what windows you have, what curtains you have, where you need light, what activities you do. Where you tend to sit, where you tend to read, where you tend to wish you had extra light, or where you wish you were spending more time if the light were different somehow.

If an expensive lamp calls you right away, and you are not the sort of person who gets discouraged by having objects you aren’t sure what to do with, then go for it, if you think having the lamp will make you feel good about lamps

This is often how it happens
People often buy lamps impulsively
Lamps sing to people