What Size Table Lamp for a Bedside or Side Table?

There is a version of this question that gets answered with a decorating rule about thirds and a version that gets answered by sitting on the bed. The second one is better, so start there and use the arithmetic to check your work.

The test that matters: sit down and look

Sit on the edge of the bed the way you would to read. Look straight ahead.

If you can see the bulb under the shade, the lamp is too short and you will be looking into the light every evening. If the shade blocks your view of the book in your lap, it is too tall. What you want is the bottom edge of the shade sitting at about your eye level when seated, which puts the light below your eyeline and onto the page.

For most people that means the bottom of the shade lands somewhere between 105 and 125 cm from the floor.

Turning that into a lamp height

Bedside tables are usually 55 to 70 cm tall, and a mattress top typically sits at 55 to 65 cm. So:

• Table at 55 to 60 cm: a lamp of 55 to 65 cm total height.
• Table at 65 to 70 cm: a lamp of 45 to 55 cm total height.
• A very low table, 40 to 50 cm: 65 to 75 cm of lamp, or consider a wall light instead.

The number people remember is that table height plus lamp height should land around 150 to 160 cm at the top of the shade. It is a reasonable check, but the seated test beats it, because it accounts for how tall you are and how high your mattress is.

If the table is very low or very cluttered, a wall mounted light removes the problem entirely and gives the whole surface back. We cover the heights in bedside wall lights: height, spacing and switch placement.

Width: the two thirds rule, and the gap that matters more

The shade should be roughly two thirds the width of the table it stands on, and never wider than the table itself. On a 45 cm bedside table, that is a shade of about 30 cm.

The rule that actually stops a lamp looking wrong, though, is about the space beside it. Leave at least 10 cm of clear table on the side away from the bed. A lamp that sits flush to the edge always looks like it is about to fall off, even when it is perfectly stable.

Proportion beats both rules. A tall slim lamp with a narrow shade and a low wide lamp with a broad shade can both be correct on the same table. What does not work is a tall lamp with a tiny shade, which looks like a mistake, or a short lamp with an enormous one, which looks like a mushroom.

Shade shape decides where the light goes

Open at top and bottom, straight sided: light goes up and down, very little sideways. Good for reading, because the downward cone lands on a book. Glare if the bottom edge is above your eyeline.

Tapered, narrow at the top: throws more light downward and outward. The most forgiving general purpose shape.

Fully enclosed, glass or ceramic: soft glow in every direction, not enough concentrated light to read comfortably by. Beautiful as a mood light on a bedside table if something else does the reading.

Opaque with a small opening: a tight pool of light. Excellent for one reader who does not want to wake the other, which we go into in reading in bed without waking anyone.

Lamps like the Mist Rice Paper Lamp sit at the diffuse end, while the Cairn Table Lamp throws its light more deliberately downward.

Side tables and consoles are a different job

A living room side table lamp is rarely a reading light. It is there to break up the room and give a warm point of light at seated height, so the rules relax:

• Beside an armchair: apply the bedside logic. Shade bottom near seated eye level, so roughly 60 to 70 cm of lamp on a 55 cm table.
• On a console behind a sofa or in a hall: taller is fine and often better. Consoles sit at 75 to 90 cm and the lamp is seen standing, not seated. A 45 to 55 cm lamp keeps the total under about 140 cm, which sits comfortably below eye level for someone walking past.
• A pair on a console: symmetry does the work. Two identical lamps on a console look intentional in a way one never quite does.

Brightness and colour for a bedroom

A bedside lamp wants roughly 400 to 600 lumens. Enough to read by, not enough to wake the room. At 2700K or warmer, always. Bedrooms are the one place where going below 2700K, down to 2200K, is genuinely nice in the last hour before sleep.

Put a dimmable bulb in it if the lamp allows one. A bedside lamp does two jobs, reading and winding down, and they want different amounts of light.

Frequently asked questions

How tall should a bedside lamp be?

Tall enough that the bottom of the shade sits at your eye level when sitting up in bed, usually 105 to 125 cm from the floor. On a 55 to 60 cm table that means a lamp of about 55 to 65 cm.

How wide should a lamp shade be?

Around two thirds the width of the table, and never wider than the table. Leave at least 10 cm of clear surface on the side away from the bed.

Should both bedside lamps match?

They do not have to, but they should be close in height so the room reads as balanced. Matching shade height matters more than matching design.

How bright should a bedside lamp be?

About 400 to 600 lumens at 2700K or warmer, ideally dimmable so the same lamp can read and wind down.

What size lamp for a console table?

Consoles are taller, so 45 to 55 cm of lamp usually suits, keeping the top of the shade under about 140 cm. A matching pair looks more deliberate than a single lamp.

Browse the table lamps collection, where each listing gives the full height and shade diameter.