The flat I rent has one ceiling light per room and the landlord's interpretation of "lighting" is a single bulb on a pendant cord that swings every time someone closes the front door. There's no second circuit, no wall sconces, no socket where a sensible desk would go. The hallway is pitch dark at 3am. The under-cabinet space in the kitchen is a black hole. The corner of the sitting room where I read swallows light.
I'm not going to pay a sparky £180 to add a fitting I can't take with me when I move. What I will pay for is plug-in or rechargeable lighting that does the same job, costs less than a Friday takeaway, and goes in the box when I leave. Below are five I've used, in flats with bad wiring and Victorian sockets in awkward places, that earned their plug.
If you only buy one: the magnetic motion sensor pack at £14.89 fixes the 3am hallway problem in under five minutes. If you've got a desk and no decent task light, the clamp-on swing-arm desk lamp at £17.15 is the upgrade I tell every WFH friend to make.
The picks
1. Magnetic Smart LED Night Light (4-pack) — £14.89 · the hallway fix
Four rechargeable USB-C pucks with built-in motion sensors and magnetic backings. You stick the metal plate to the wall with the included adhesive, then the light snaps on and off magnetically when it needs charging. Three sensing modes — all-day, night-only, and always-on — and the colour temperature toggles between warm and cool. I have one above the loo, one inside a deep cupboard, one on the landing.
- Pros: genuinely useful at 3am, USB-C charging (no faff with proprietary cables), works inside dark cupboards where there's no socket.
- Cons: the supplier rates them at around 8 hours per charge on continuous use — fine for hallways, less so if you want one as a reading light. Build is ABS plastic, not luxe.
- Best for: renters, parents with toddlers who wake up disoriented, anyone whose hallway has no socket.
See the magnetic motion sensor pack on Villalta Home
2. Astronaut Galaxy Projector — £17.98 · the kids' room one
A 5W RGB projector hidden inside a white astronaut figure that's about the size of a pint glass. USB-powered (so any phone charger works), with a remote and a sleep timer. The projection is brighter and more saturated than the £8 versions floating around — my niece picked it over the cheaper one because the astronaut "has a face". Fair enough.
- Pros: doubles as a decorative shelf object during the day, timer means it doesn't stay on all night, remote works through a duvet.
- Cons: AAA batteries for the remote aren't included (annoying classic). The lens needs a clear sightline — don't tuck it behind a teddy.
- Best for: kids' rooms, gaming corners, anyone who wants atmosphere without a smart bulb subscription.
See the astronaut projector on Villalta Home
3. Dimmable LED Desk Lamp with Clamp — £17.15 · the WFH one
This is the one I'd tell any WFH friend to buy. The clamp grips desktops between roughly 1 and 5 cm thick (measure your worktop first — IKEA Linnmons are fine, some kitchen tables are too chunky). The swing arm reaches about 1.2m once extended, so the lamp goes where you need it instead of hogging desk surface. Five brightness steps, two colour temperatures, touch controls on the lower arm.
- Pros: the flat LED strip throws even light without a hotspot — properly useful for printed text or screen work; saves a foot of desk space versus a base lamp.
- Cons: the joint resistance softens over a year or so of repositioning. Touch panel can be a bit fussy if your hands are cold.
- Best for: small home offices, students, anyone whose "desk" is a tiny bureau or a console table.
See the clamp-on desk lamp on Villalta Home
4. LED Under Cabinet Puck Lights (6-pack) — £19.66 · the kitchen fix
Six aluminium pucks, 7mm thick, daisy-chained to a single plug. 6000K cool white at up to 120 lumens each — the right temperature for spotting whether that's coriander or flat-leaf parsley. Comes with adhesive pads (renter-friendly) and screws (if you own).
- Pros: properly slim at 7mm so it doesn't sit below the cabinet edge; aluminium body handles heat better than the plastic versions; one plug for all six.
- Cons: the cables are visible — you'll want to plan where they run before sticking pucks down. Cool white only; if you want warm, look elsewhere.
- Best for: galley kitchens, the back of a worktop where the wall units cast a shadow, inside a wardrobe with a power point nearby.
See the under-cabinet puck pack on Villalta Home
5. Modern Gold Table Lamp with Amber Glass — £34.31 · the considered one
The splurge of the lot, and the one that earns its space on a side table rather than just doing a job. A gold-tone metal body, a flower-shaped amber glass shade, a head that tilts 45 degrees so you can aim the warm pool of light at a book instead of the ceiling. Uses a standard E27 bulb (not included) — pair it with a 4W warm white filament bulb and the colour mood is sorted.
- Pros: looks more expensive than it is; the adjustable head turns it from a decorative lamp into a proper reading light; weighted base means it doesn't tip when you reach for it.
- Cons: bulb not included (factor in another £4-8); 150cm cord is decent but check your nearest socket before committing it to a far corner.
- Best for: sitting-room corners that look dead at night, bedside tables where you want something prettier than a base-and-shade combo, dressing tables.
See the gold table lamp on Villalta Home
The verdict
If you've moved into a flat that came with one bulb per room and you're not ready to negotiate with a landlord, start with the magnetic motion sensor pack for hallways and the clamp-on desk lamp for whatever serves as your desk. That's £32 and a tangible quality-of-life upgrade. The gold table lamp is the one to save for when you've got a corner that deserves to look considered — it's the slowest payback of the five and the one most worth the extra spend.
By the Villalta Home Editorial team, June 2026. Edited by Juan Antonio Villalta Pacheco.
