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If you desperately need a new, more chill vibe, a sunset lamp is the perfect addition to your home. Not only does it mimic the serene glow you can only catch at golden hour, but it makes brightening a room infinitely more interesting. If you’re on a mission to completely ditch overhead lighting, getting a sunset lamp means you won’t need to find a place for another floor lamp (and, if you’re like me, you only have a certain amount of floor to place a floor lamp in our home). The best sunset lamps jazz up your decor without much effort.

How we chose the best sunset lamps

The world of sunset lamps is inundated with an alphabet soup of consonants and vowels that usually don’t go together. That’s not to say that these brands are inherently bad—there’s just more potential for fake reviews and products to rise to the top due to click-farming. We made sure to make our fine-toothed comb even thinner to separate the legits from posers. We also looked at reviews and recommendations and tested a few ourselves.

The best sunset lamps: Reviews & Recommendations

Whether you’re looking to brighten up gloomy days or just make your spaces feel a little cozier, a sunset lamp is a trendier way to change the mood compared to LED lights or string lights. One of our recommendations should spark your interest enough for you to want to bask in its glow.

Best overall: YouOKLight Sunset Lamp

A YouOKLight shining a sound light on a wall

YouOKLight

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Specs

  • Light options: 16 colors and 4 modes
  • Rotation: 180 degrees
  • Dimensions: 3.94 x 3.94 x 10.39 inches
  • Weight: 11 ounces

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Bright
  • Lots of modes and color options

Cons

  • Top heavy, so topples over

If you like to change your lighting often, the YouOKLight was made for you. It comes in 16 different colors, 12 brightness levels, and four effect modes: Flash, strobe, fade, and smooth. You can even sync it to music and schedule when the lamp turns on and off. That’s a lot of potential lighting combos! And it means you can use it as a makeshift sunrise alarm clock (although we prefer the real thing) or automatically turn it off at bedtime. You can control the lamp via an app or with the included remote control. If you’re fine with a single color and one brightness level, consider choosing one of the single-color options, which is cheaper due to its simplicity. We’re fond of the Sun colorway for the ultimate sunset feel.

Best rotating: Bavcieu Sunset Lamp

The Bavcieu sunset lamp shining a blue and purple light on white wall.

Bavcieu

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Specs

  • Light options: 16 colors and 4 modes
  • Rotation: 360 degrees
  • Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.56 inches
  • Weight: 15 ounces

Pros

  • Long cord
  • Lots of color modes
  • Wide range of rotation

Cons

  • Remote can turn on other electronics; other remotes can turn on the lamp

Flexing is a good thing here. And the Bavcieu Sunset Lamp can rotate 360 degrees so you can point it at any point in the room. Its 6.6-foot long cord means that you don’t have to scramble for an outlet, and 16 color options mean you don’t have to scramble for a color choice. It has four modes: jump, strobe, gradient, and smooth gradient. However, It has one quirk: its included remote can turn on other electronics (like televisions), and other remotes can turn on the lamp. If that doesn’t turn you off, you’ll be pleased with this sunset lamp’s flexibility.

Best remote-controlled: Nellsi Sunset Lamp Projection with Remote Control

A person posing in front of a white wall, using a nellsi sunset lamp to shine orange light on them

nellsi

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Specs

  • Light options: Unlimited RGB color adjustment
  • Rotation: 360 degrees
  • Dimensions: 4.92 x 5.31 x 1.96 inches
  • Weight: 9.9 ounces

Pros

  • Lots of color control
  • Can use remote or app
  • Adjustable brightness

Cons

  • Lamp a little top heavy
  • No color presets

You don’t even need to get off the couch to change the vibe with the Nellsi Sunset Lamp Projection with Remote Control. It looks like the remote you use on your TV, meaning it fits in with your decor. Although the included remote comes with no preset buttons, you can access unlimited RGB color adjustment using the coordinating app. It also comes with an adjustable tripod to get the perfect projecting sunset angle and height.

Best app controlled: Freefa Sunset Lamp

A Freefa app controlled sunset lamp on a blue and white background

Freefa

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Specs

  • Light options: 64 colors
  • Rotation: 180 degrees
  • Dimensions: 11.02 x 11.02 x up to 52 inches
  • Weight: 1.87 lbs.

Pros

  • App controlled
  • Easy to fit in home
  • Adjustable stand

Cons

  • App can occasionally crash
  • Comes with five strands of fake ivy, which you may not need

If you’re prone to losing remotes, a sunset lamp with an app may be a better choice for you. The Freefa Sunset Lamp has you covered with an app available for Android and iPhone. The app uses a color wheel and preset colors to customize a perfect shade or pick a quick favorite. The app also allows you to change the brightness level. Four modes—DIY mode, music mode, mic mode, and alarm clock mode—let you set the light from morning until night. And, if you’re cool with a little extra decoration, the lamp comes with fake ivy to zhuzh up your surroundings.

Best projection: YEELIGHT Sunset Lamp

A YEELIGHT shining a yellow light on a white wall.

YEELIGHT

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Specs

  • Light options: Two colors (yellow and red)
  • Rotation: 360 degrees
  • Dimensions: 5 x 5 x 5 inches
  • Weight: 12.1 ounces

Pros

  • Rechargeable
  • Dimmable
  • Can be screwed into the wall

Cons

  • Only comes in one color

If you’re looking for a stylish light, the YEELIGHT projection sunset lamp is your best bet, thanks to its modernist white plastic enclosure and round retro-futuristic shape. It’s rechargeable, meaning there are no cords to deal with, unlike other lamps on our list. The light itself can detach from its base to rotate it completely (the light has 360-degree rotation), and you can even screw it into the wall. It comes in one color—a true sunset shade of orange and yellow—but its usability makes up for the lack of a rainbow.

Best budget: CORATED Sunset Lamp

A CORATED sunset lamp shining a light on a blank wall

CORATED

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Specs

  • Light options: 16 static colors; 4 modes
  • Rotation: 180 degrees
  • Dimensions: 4 x 4 x 8 inches
  • Weight: 10.2 ounces

Pros

  • Easy-to-use remote
  • Compact
  • Adjustable brightness

Cons

  • Lens gets hot with use

The cheapest sunset lamp on our list happens to punch above its weight, thanks to plenty of features included with other lamps on this list. The included remote comes with button presets for 12 static colors, four modes, RGBW for color customization, on, off, and brightness levels. The lamp itself rotates 180 degrees, just like our top pick. If you’re looking for something that doesn’t break the bank but still holds up, the CORATED sunset lamp is a dream come true.

What to consider when buying the best sunset lamps

Sunset lamps are incredibly trendy right now. However, we think it’s more fab than fad—you can get a lot of interesting visuals depending on how you place it (more on that later), and buying one is an easy way to change up your selfies. Here’s what you need to know before finding your light.

Placement

You can point the sunset lamp right at a wall, but there are plenty of other placements you could do. Shining it on a corner turns this basic projection into an optical illusion. You could even throw it up on the ceiling. My sunset lamp is pointed at a disco ball hanging from my ceiling, filling my living room with dreamy white dots. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box.

With this said, think about where you want to place the light itself. I have mine hidden behind a TV to make it seem like the light is coming out of nowhere.

Use

Sunset lamps are mostly for decoration. They don’t have the lumens required for light therapy; additionally, they don’t emit red light waves that supposedly help with sleep. Lighting can affect your mood—and having something beautiful shining on the wall certainly doesn’t bring you down—but don’t expect to use these sunset lamps as health devices.

Quality misconceptions

Many lamps on the list are factory-direct brands, meaning they ship right from the manufacturer. Usually, they are manufactured in China. “Made in China” doesn’t mean a product is inherently bad; your phone is most likely made in China, and you trust that, right? However, as mentioned earlier, some of these brands use tactics to get their products to the top of the search engine. Read reviews, and look out for products where the reviews don’t match the product listed.

FAQs

Q: Do sunset lamps use a lot of electricity?

In our experience, sunset lamps do not use much electricity—in fact, it’s probably cheaper than your hardwired lights. Truthfully, it will depend on the rate your electric provider charges.

Q: Are sunset lamps good replacements for light therapy?

No. Sunset lamps do not emit 10,000 lumens, which is recommended for light therapy and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Q: Can I use sunset lamps for insomnia and poor sleep?

Most likely not. Red light lamps—which supposedly increase the amount of melatonin when you sleep—emit red light waves. Sunset lamps simply emit red-colored light. But if having a red light on tricks your brain into getting sleepy, who are we to yuck your yum.

Final thoughts on the best sunsets lamp

A sunset lamp can turn a room from drab to dreamy with the press of a button, whether it be on a physical remote or in an app. Unlike other lighting, they are compact and small, meaning they’re easier to fit in your home than you think. Plus, you can use them to up your selfie or photo game. If your days are particularly cloudy, the best sunset lamps let you bring golden hour inside or turn the room into a shade that inspires you.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio to video games to cameras and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

Amanda Reed
Amanda Reed

Amanda Reed is a commerce updates writer at Popular Science. She makes sure all product round-ups are up-to-date, shares deals happening all over the internet, and reviews various gizmos and gadgets.

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