Swing-arm sconces put light exactly where you need it. And they’re especially helpful in spaces where you don’t have wiring for a ceiling fixture or a place for a free-standing lamp.

“I do love a swing-arm,” said Heidi Caillier, an interior designer based in Seattle. “They’re really great for directed reading light, and feel more discreet than a decorative lamp that takes up real estate.”

Ms. Caillier frequently mounts a pair of small ones on either side of the headboard in a bedroom, or installs a single, large one in living and media rooms.

But whatever the space, a big part of the swing-arm lamp’s appeal is its ability to move.

“You can tuck it away and then pull it out when you need it,” she said. And if you have children, she added, a swing-arm sconce eliminates “lamps on tables that kids could bump into and knock over.”