A table lamp is the easiest piece of lighting to buy and the easiest to get wrong. Too tall and it glares. Too short and it lights the table rather than the room. And nine times out of ten the problem is not the lamp at all, it is the shade.
Here are the proportions we use, in centimetres, and how to check them before you order.
On this page
- Beside a bed
- On a console or sideboard
- Beside a sofa or armchair
- On a desk
- The shade rule everybody gets wrong
- The bulb
- One lamp or a pair
- The numbers, in short
- Common questions
Beside a bed
The rule is not about the lamp, it is about your eyes. The bottom of the shade should sit level with your eyes when you are sitting up in bed, which for most beds means about 50cm above the mattress.
Higher, and the bulb shines straight into your face. Lower, and the light falls on the bedside table instead of your book.
In practice, with a bedside table of 55 to 65cm, that means a lamp of 40 to 50cm tall.
Three that fall squarely in that range:
- Marble Table Lamp, 36cm, for a lower bedside table.
- Rattan Table Lamp, 47cm, hand-woven with a linen shade.
- Rattan Ball Table Lamp, 45cm, the rounder version of the same idea.
If your bedside table is deep, a taller piece such as the Pebble Table Lamp at 65cm works, provided the bed is high. And if there is no socket behind the bed, the Amber Glass Mushroom Lamp or a rechargeable table lamp solves the problem without an extension lead. Where cordless works best is in are rechargeable table lamps worth it.
See the full bedroom lighting selection.
On a console or sideboard
Two proportions matter here, and they work together.
- The lamp should be no taller than about a third of the width of the furniture. On a 120cm sideboard, that is a lamp of roughly 40cm.
- Furniture plus lamp should finish below your own eye level, around 160cm for most people. Above that, the arrangement reads top-heavy and the bulb becomes visible as you walk past.
On a hallway console, where people pass rather than sit, a compact lamp such as the Bamboo Round Table Lamp at 23cm or the Bamboo Square Lattice Lamp at 25cm gives warmth without crowding the surface. For a dining room sideboard, the Ceramic Ribbed Table Lamp at 42cm holds the wall better.
Browse hallway lighting and living room lighting.
Beside a sofa or armchair
Reading in a chair is the one case where the measurement is taken from the floor, not from the table.
The bottom of the shade should sit at shoulder height when you are seated, which is usually 100 to 110cm from the floor. On a side table of 55cm, that means a lamp of 45 to 55cm.
If there is no side table at all, a floor lamp does the job better than a table lamp on a stack of books. The Nordic Floor Lamp at 120cm is made for exactly that position, and the 2-Head Reading Floor Lamp at 165cm covers two seats at once. See all floor lamps.
On a desk
A desk lamp answers to the work, not to the room. Aim for a total height of 40 to 50cm, with the bottom of the shade just below eye level when you are sitting, so the light lands on the page and not in your eyes.
An adjustable head matters more than height here: the LED Desk Lamp and the Gold Eye-Care Desk Lamp both aim where you need them. For a warmer, less technical look, the Pleated USB Study Lamp or the Wood Table Lamp sit better in a room that doubles as a study.
See home office lighting.
The shade rule everybody gets wrong
This is the one that decides whether a lamp looks designed or improvised.
- The shade should be at least twice as wide as the base. Never narrower.
- The shade should be about one third of the total height of the lamp.
- The shade should hide the bulb and the fitting completely when you are standing. If you can see the bulb from a normal standing position, the shade is too shallow.
A wide, soft shade also changes the quality of the light, not just the look: it spreads a pool rather than a spot. The Pleated Walnut Table Lamp is a good illustration of the proportion, with a narrow cone base under a much wider pleated shade.
The bulb
Height and proportion count for nothing under the wrong bulb.
For a bedroom or a living room, use 2700K, warm white. 4000K belongs in a utility room, and 6000K in a car park. If the lamp takes an E27 fitting, you are free to choose; if it has an integrated LED, check the stated colour temperature before you buy, because you cannot change it later.
Dimmable matters more beside a bed than anywhere else. Several of our bedside pieces, including the Macaron Glass USB Lamp, switch between three light tones on the base.
One lamp or a pair
On a bedside table, symmetry wins: two identical lamps, one either side, always look more considered than one.
On a console or a sideboard, a pair works when the piece is wider than 140cm. Below that, a single lamp with an object beside it, a bowl or a stack of books, looks less like a hotel lobby.
And in a living room, avoid matching everything. One table lamp, one floor lamp and a wall light at different heights make a room feel lit; three identical table lamps make it feel catalogued. Our table lamps are chosen to mix rather than match.
The numbers, in short
- Beside a bed: shade bottom 50cm above the mattress, lamp 40 to 50cm tall.
- On a console: lamp height under one third of the furniture width.
- Furniture plus lamp: below 160cm total.
- Beside a chair: shade bottom at 100 to 110cm from the floor.
- On a desk: 40 to 50cm total height.
- Shade width: at least twice the base.
- Shade height: about one third of the lamp.
- Bulb: 2700K in living spaces.
Common questions
How tall should a bedside lamp be ?
Between 40 and 50cm for a standard bedside table of 55 to 65cm. The bottom of the shade should sit roughly 50cm above the mattress, level with your eyes when you are sitting up in bed.
How wide should a lamp shade be compared with the base ?
At least twice the width of the base, and never narrower. The shade should also be about a third of the total height of the lamp, and should hide the bulb completely when you are standing.
Should bedside lamps match ?
Beside a bed, yes: two identical lamps look more considered than one. Elsewhere in a room, vary the heights instead, mixing a table lamp, a floor lamp and a wall light rather than repeating the same piece.
Still unsure ?
Send us the height of your bedside table or the width of your console at contact@thelightheritage.com and we will tell you what size to look for. We answer every message ourselves.
Browse the full table lamps collection, or start from the room: bedroom, living room, home office, hallway.
And if you are hanging something from the ceiling rather than standing it on a table, our guide to how high a pendant light should hang covers the same ground overhead.
