IKEA's $50 Floor Lamp That Does Three Jobs at Once
The IKEA PS 2026 Floor Uplighter ($49.99 US / £35 UK) launches May 14 — a 182 cm steel lamp with rotating joints that switches between uplighter, reading light, and spotlight modes. Three colors, 28 cm footprint, no installation required.
Most studio apartments share a lighting problem nobody talks about on design blogs: overhead light only reaches so far, and the sofa corner — the spot where you actually want to sit and read at the end of the day — is almost always too dim, too harsh, or lit by a desk lamp that clearly belongs on a desk.
Buying separate fixtures for ambient, task, and accent lighting is the right answer in theory. In a 400-square-foot apartment, it just isn't practical.
The IKEA PS 2026 Floor Uplighter, launching this week as part of IKEA's first new PS collection in a decade, addresses this with a single plug-in standing lamp that costs $49.99 — and rotates into three distinct lighting modes without a single smart-home subscription.
The design came from a miter saw
Designer Alexander "Lex" Pott — a Rotterdam-based designer collaborating with IKEA for the first time — landed on the lamp's core idea while cutting 45-degree angles on a miter saw. 1 The satisfying rotation of the cut became the entire mechanism: the lamp is a powder-coated steel cylinder sliced at 45-degree angles and rejoined with patented rotating joints. Twist the body, and the shade changes direction.
"When you rotate the lamp it doesn't just change the light, but the atmosphere of the space. We reduced the design to its clearest possible form, and the function doesn't reveal itself at first glance — but that's where the joy and playfulness live."— Lex Pott, designer
That invisibility of function is deliberate. The lamp looks, at first, like a clean geometric column: tall, slim, single-color steel. Only when you actually move it does the point become clear.
The lamp is one of three products previewed from the IKEA PS 2026 collection, a 35-piece series designed explicitly around small-space living. 1 Maria O'Brian, Creative Leader at IKEA of Sweden, describes the collection's philosophy as "embracing simplicity and finding the excitement in that — objects with a clear function, elevated by expressive details that are a little mischievous."
Three modes, one lamp
The rotating joints allow the shade to land in three stable positions:
- Uplighter: shade faces the ceiling, bouncing diffuse light off the room — standard evening ambient mode
- Reading light: arm bends toward a seated position, directing light at a sofa, armchair, or floor cushion
- Spotlight: shade angles down and forward, casting a focused cone useful for lighting a shelf, artwork, or corner of a desk
Image from: IKEA Global Newsroom
Physically: the lamp stands 182 cm (72") tall with a 28 cm (11") base diameter. 2 The cord runs 3.8 m (about 12'6"), long enough to reach a wall outlet from most furniture arrangements without an extension cable. Max wattage is 8W (US) / 7.5W (EU) using a GU10 LED bulb, sold separately. The lamp ships at 6.45 kg — light enough to carry between rooms or between apartments.
Three color options are available across all markets: chartreuse yellow, cobalt blue, and deep burgundy. All three colors are priced identically within each market.
The real case for a studio apartment
A 28 cm base footprint is smaller than most side tables. For anyone renting in a city, that matters: the lamp stands in a corner, a hallway, or the narrow strip beside a sofa without eating the square footage that a tripod lamp or arc lamp demands. It needs no installation — no ceiling bracket, no drilling — so it moves when you move.
The more practical advantage is consolidation. A typical first apartment often ends up with one lamp for reading, a strip light for ambience, and overhead lights for everything else. This lamp handles two of those three scenarios in a single purchase. At $49.99, it costs less than a decent bedside lamp.
The full PS 2026 collection is built around this logic. IKEA's Korea teaser describes products "packed with small-space features: some offer multiple functions... others create storage, are easy to move, or have thoughtful small-space dimensions." 3 The uplighter fits cleanly into that brief.
One practical note: the GU10 bulb is sold separately. Budget an extra $5–15 depending on the brand and lumen output you prefer.
Pricing and where to get it
The lamp is available in-store starting May 14, 2026 across US, UK, Ireland, Canada, South Korea, and most European markets. Online ordering opens May 28, 2026. Norway's launch is one week later: in-store May 21.
| Market | Price (local) | Article no. (yellow) | In-store from |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | $49.99 | 706.085.42 | May 14 |
| UK | £35.00 | 706.085.37 | May 13 |
| Denmark | 349.00 DKK | 806.085.32 | May 15 |
| Norway | 599.00 NOK | 806.085.32 | May 21 |
Article numbers differ by market. If ordering online for click-and-collect, use the market-specific number above to avoid pulling up the wrong color variant. 2 4 5
Japan and Sweden product pages were not yet live as of May 12; both markets are expected to list the lamp in late May or early June.
Cover image from: IKEA Global Newsroom
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