Table Lamps

Table Lamps

A table lamp is the piece of lighting people actually notice. It sits at eye level, it gets touched every day, and it does more to set the mood of a room than anything on the ceiling.

Sizing a lamp to its table

Two rules cover almost every situation:

  • Total height — the lamp should be no taller than about 1.5 times the height of the table it sits on. A 26-inch nightstand takes a lamp up to roughly 30 inches.
  • Shade width — keep the shade narrower than the table, so the lamp does not overhang the edge.

The eye-level rule

When you are seated beside the lamp, the bottom of the shade should sit at about eye level. That hides the bulb from view and stops the glare that makes a room tiring to sit in. For a bedside lamp, sit up in bed and check: if you can see the bulb, the lamp is too short for that table.

Where it goes Total lamp height
Nightstand 24 – 30 in
Living room side table 26 – 34 in
Console or sideboard 28 – 36 in
Desk 14 – 20 in

Bulbs and switches

Stay at 2700K for a living room or bedroom — warm light is what makes a lamp feel like a lamp. A three-way switch is worth looking for on a bedside lamp: full brightness for reading, lowest setting for the last few minutes before sleep.

Related

For light beside a chair with no table, see floor lamps. To free up the nightstand entirely, wall lights mount beside the bed instead.