Table Lamps for Bedside, Console & Desk

How to choose table lamps

Start with the surface. A nightstand 18 inches wide will not take a base wider than about six inches without losing the space for a book and a glass. A console behind a sofa can hold a taller silhouette because nobody reaches across it. A desk needs the light off to one side of the writing hand, which is a placement question more than a design one.

Next comes the shade, since it controls what the fixture actually does. An opaque drum sends light straight up and down, which is right for a bedside where a partner is asleep. A translucent linen or silk shade glows across the whole room. A glass globe or a mushroom dome puts a soft light in every direction and works where the fixture doubles as an ornament on an empty shelf.

Then think about power. A corded lamp needs an outlet in reach and a cord long enough to run behind the furniture without a visible loop. A rechargeable model takes the cord out of the picture entirely and can move to a bathroom, a windowsill or an outdoor table for an evening. Touch dimmers and three way sockets both give a low setting, which is worth having at a bedside.

Proportion and shade size for table lamps

Designers work to ratios here rather than to a single measurement. Take the height of the table into account, because the pairing decides the look far more than the lamp does on its own.

Bedside total height: 24 to 27 inches on a nightstand of 24 to 26 inches.
Console or side table: 26 to 32 inches overall in a living room seating group.
Shade height: about one third of the total height of the lamp.
Shade width: roughly twice the widest point of the base, and always wider than the base.
Eye level: the shade bottom at 40 to 46 inches from the floor, so the socket stays hidden from a seated position.

One test catches most sizing mistakes. Sit where you will sit, whether that is a sofa or propped against a headboard, and look at the lamp. If you can see the bulb or the metal socket, the fixture is too short for the table or the shade is too shallow. Swapping the shade is the simpler correction, and a taller harp fixes the same fault on many models.

Which table lamp material suits you

Lamp type	Best in	What it does	Price here
Ceramic	A nightstand, a sideboard	A solid form by day and a soft halo at night	$117 to $1,540
Marble and travertine	A console, a shelf at eye level	Weight on the surface and veining that shifts	$148 to $1,300
Glass and crystal	A small table, a guest room	Light through the body as well as the shade	$143 to $670
Acrylic and resin	A child's room, a desk, a shelf	A lit face with nothing bright behind it	$110 to $370
Metal and brass	A modern room, a narrow surface	A compact outline and a contained pool below	$95 to $370
Cordless and battery	A dining table, a shelf with no outlet	Light you move rather than light you install	$95 to $860

Terms on this page

E26 and E27 sockets: The screw fittings for standard household bulbs, used by most lamps here. Many product pages name both sizes because they are close enough to swap. It leaves the warmth and the brightness of the light up to the bulb you buy.
Rechargeable battery: A cell inside the lamp, charged over a cable, so the lamp runs with no cord at all. Part of this range works this way. Runtime drops as the brightness goes up, so a lower setting carries an evening while the top step does not.
Dimmable: A lamp that can be turned down rather than only switched. A good share of this range states it, through a touch base, a knob or a compatible bulb. It is what lets the same lamp read as work light and then as evening light.
Fabric and linen shades: A woven shade stretched on a frame, the most common type here. It hides the lamp and spreads an even wash with no hard shadow edge. It also traps dust, so clean it with a soft brush rather than anything damp.
IP20: The dry indoor rating carried by lamps on this page. It says the body keeps fingers away from live parts and offers nothing against water. Right for a table in any room, wrong for a bathroom counter or a covered porch.

Questions about lamps for a nightstand or console

What size lamp suits a bedside table?

24 to 27 inches overall on a standard nightstand, with a base no more than a third of the table width. That keeps the shade bottom near eye level when you are sitting up in bed, so the light falls on the page and not into your face.

Should a pair match on either side of a bed?

They should match in height and shade width, though the bases can differ. Uneven heights read as a mistake from the doorway. Where the nightstands themselves differ in height, adjust the lamps so the two shade tops finish at the same level.

How wide should the shade be?

About twice the widest part of the base, and never narrower than the base itself. The shade should also cover the socket and the harp completely when viewed from a seated position. On a drum shade, allow at least two inches of clearance around the bulb.

Do rechargeable models give enough light to read by?

Most are built for atmosphere rather than reading, giving a soft glow for a few hours per charge. Check the lumen figure and the run time on the product page. For sustained reading at a bedside, a corded lamp with a standard socket remains the more practical fixture.

What bulb temperature works in a bedroom?

2700K, which reads warm and matches most bedside settings. A dimmable bulb or a three way socket lets the same lamp handle reading at full output and a low background glow later. Keep every lamp in one room to a single color temperature so the light stays consistent.

Browse by category: Living Room Table Lamps, Modern Table Lamps, Bedside Table Lamps and Rechargeable Table Lamps. Browse by style: Minimalist Table Lamps, Vintage Table Lamps and Mid Century Modern Table Lamps. See also Floor Lamps and Wall Lamps. The wider portable lighting category is Lamps.