How To Determine The Right Size Lamp For Your Space

Just about any room of the home can benefit from a table lamp — they're perfect for adding a bit of ambient or accent lighting and can illuminate an area effectively without being too overpowering. While table lamps are useful to have in a room, not all of them suit a space as well as others. Sorting through the many different styles is one challenge that you'll face when buying a new lamp, but the size is another important factor to choosing the perfect lighting for your space. For the ideal table lamp size, consider the height of the counter where the light will be and how the lampshade, base, and table all work together.  

Whether you're buying a modern lamp online or searching in stores to find the perfect vintage lamps for your space, you need to choose one that's the appropriate size. A lamp that's the wrong height or width may seem awkward and out of place in the room. It also can fail at adequately lighting your space. Remember, a couple of inches is a small change that can make a big difference.

As a general rule, the lamp's height can be roughly 1.5 times the height of the table. If the lamp is taller than this, it will likely look disproportionate and clash with its surroundings. Similarly, be aware of the lampshade's dimensions. Ensure the shade doesn't stretch out any wider than the width of the table. Also, consider how the lampshade relates to the base — it should be approximately two times the width of the lamp base. The shade's height, on the other hand, should only be about one-third of the combined height of the lamp base, bulb, and harp. 

It's also helpful to take the size of the room into consideration. A larger table lamp can make a small room feel cramped very quickly. If you need to illuminate a large area, you may want to consider whether a floor lamp or table lamp is the better choice. By keeping these rules in mind, you should be able to pick a stylish lamp that will perfectly fit your space.