Wood, Glass & Marble Table Lamps

Table lamps for bedsides, consoles and the quieter corners of a room. Our Japandi table lamps sit in solid timber, glass, marble and polished chrome, each shaped to give a warm pool of light rather than a bright one. The point of a table lamp is not to illuminate the whole room; it is to make one part of it feel settled.

Japandi lighting works on a simple principle borrowed from Japanese interiors: several small sources beat one large one. A table lamp beside a sofa, another on a console, and the ceiling light stays off all evening.

Choosing a table lamp

For a bedside, look for a lamp between 40 and 55cm tall so the shade sits near eye level when you are sitting up. Anything much taller throws light into your face rather than onto a book.

Glass and marble bases suit rooms that already have plenty of timber, adding weight without warmth. Wooden bases do the opposite, softening a space with a lot of steel or stone in it.

Table lamp questions

How tall should a table lamp be beside a sofa?
When you are seated, the bottom of the shade should sit at roughly eye level, around 100 to 110cm from the floor, so the light is beside you rather than above or below. Take that figure, subtract the height of the side table, and you have the lamp height you need. On a standard side table of 50 to 65cm, a lamp of 35 to 55cm usually works.

How big should the lamp be for its table?
As a rule of thumb, no taller than about one and a half times the height of the table, and taking up no more than a third of its surface, so there is still room for a cup or a book. If the shade overhangs the edge, the lamp is too big for the table.

Which shade gives the best light?
Fabric shades are the most versatile: they send light up and out and soften the bulb. Pleated fabric adds texture to the glow. Glass reads crisper and more decorative. Opaque metal shades push light straight down, which suits a desk but not a bedside or sofa.

What bulb should I use?
Warm white, around 2700K, for living rooms and bedrooms; up to 3000K on a desk. Dimmable bulbs let one lamp do reading light and evening glow. Check the fitting on each lamp's listing before buying bulbs; the Chrome Column Table Lamp, for example, takes an E27.

Should table lamps match?
Only where they flank something symmetrical, such as a pair of bedside tables. Elsewhere, vary the material, a wooden lamp in one place and glass or marble in another, and keep the colour temperature the same so the light feels consistent.

See also our Japandi floor lamps, or browse all lighting.