Bruno Rainaldi must have taken a note from the Talking Heads' catchphrase "This ain't no disco" when designing the Orten'zia Large Floor Lamp ($4,628). The luminary certainly has a disco ball aura to it, but its nickel-plated petals give it a unique flair that's light years away from the glowing dance floor of the Saturday Night Fever set. Unfortunately, with that price tag, it's also astronomically distant from my living room.
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If you're on the hunt for a classic, arched floor lamp, PBteen has you covered with its Swoop Lamp ($199, reduced from $269), a sweeping arc, height-adjustable floor lamp that'll bring overhead lighting to any space. This design is clearly inspired by the Arco Floor Lamp ($2,696), which is part of MoMA's permanent collection, but its linen/cotton shade and simple base makes it appropriate for more traditional homes. CB2 also sells an Arco-inspired floor lamp, but its glossy shade makes it more suited for a modernist.
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For the next installment of this game, take a look at each of these rectangular floor lamps and see if you can answer my questions about them.
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One glance at the Pottery Barn Canton Floor Lamp ($599), which stands more than five feet high with an oversize shade, and you know you're in the presence of greatness. With a transparent glass base and a linen shade, it's the counterpart to tall, dark, and handsome; the Simon Baker to your Clive Owen. If good looks aren't enough to sweep you off your feet, you'll be happy to know that Canton offers a little personalization as well.
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For the next installment of this game, take a look at each of these leaning floor lamps and see if you can answer my questions about them.
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For those of you who loved the tripod base lamps in my Good, Better, Best, do I have a deal for you. While not identical in style to the tripod lamps I featured, I find this one actually preferable in several ways. The Gump's Tripod Pharmacy Lamp (on sale for $169.99, originally $455) has an antiqued-nickel finish that makes it seem like a great flea market find, and its shape, which is modeled after early 20th-century pharmacy fixtures, only enhances that impression.
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I've always been, admittedly, a little turned off by floor lamps. I think the overwhelming number of tacky torchiere lamps in college dorm rooms bruised me for life. But I do love the height that a floor lamp gives a room. 
For the next installment of this game, take a look at each of these arc floor lamps, and then see if you can answer my questions about them.
The Teorema floor lamp ($5,536) was designed by Ferruccio Laviani in 2005. Made of chrome-plated metal and polycarbonate, this complex floor lamp has a sculptural elegance not found in many designs. This lamp definitely has a lot going on, but I can see how it could be a stunning centerpiece in a minimal home. 
