Table Lamp Ideas: Choose the Best Table Lamp for Your Room
Published By: Shades Of Light
Date Published: May 12, 2017
Last Updated: April 13, 2022
Are you looking for a DIY lighting design idea that will refresh the style and feel of your room? Replacing an old table lamp is a great way to begin a gradual room upgrade! Unlike other new light fixtures, which may require additional wiring and electrical expertise for installation, plug-in table lamps are easy to install and can be moved around your home as you plan out your perfect look. Table lamps also provide practical light for daily task areas, from your study’s desk to your bedside table. Explore our table lamp guide for advice on how to find quality table lamps that match your daily routine and elevate your room design.
Table lamps most often serve as task lights for illuminating seated activities. Therefore, a good rule of thumb for placing table lamps in rooms throughout your home is to think about where your family, friends, and guests will spend the most time sitting. Here are a few areas of the home we recommend thinking about when you’re in the market for a new table lamp.
Table lamps add warmth to a living room, whether you’re relaxing with your family or entertaining guests. Small accent lamps can fit into unsuspecting corners of the room, like on bookcases or decorative trays, and solid color table lamps can bring a fun pop of color to sofa end tables.
How many table lamps you need in your living room depends on the other lighting sources in your room. If table lamps are the only source of lighting in your room, you may need up to five lamps in a standard 12×20 foot living room. If your living room is lit overhead using a chandelier, ceiling light, or ceiling fan with lights, you can add two-to-three lamps to side tables or other accent tables to balance out the level of illumination.
Where to Put a Table Lamp: Advice By Room
Living Room Table Lamps
How many table lamps you need in your living room depends on the other lighting sources in your room. If table lamps are the only source of lighting in your room, you may need up to five lamps in a standard 12×20 foot living room. If your living room is lit overhead using a chandelier, ceiling light, or ceiling fan with lights, you can add two-to-three lamps to side tables or other accent tables to balance out the level of illumination.
Office Table Lamps & Study Desk Lamps
Dining Room Table Lamps: Buffet & Candlestick Lamps
Buffet lamps—sometimes called candlestick lamps—are the most popular style of table lamp for a dining area, as they provide task lighting for guests who get up to serve themselves from a buffet-style spread. This style of lamp tends to have a taller, narrower profile compared to traditional table lamps. However, even if your meal is not a self-serve affair, having an extra tone of warm, intimate light can help to set the atmosphere of your formal seated meal.
Bedside Table Reading Lamps
Bedside table lamps are also practical choice for safe movement through the bedroom at night. Without a bedside table lamp, you may have to get up from the bed to turn off your overhead fixtures, making it difficult to see your way back to the bed. A bedside lamp allows you to extinguish your light from where you’re resting and to re-illuminate the room quickly if you need to get up in the middle of the night for any reason, like tending to a baby, working a night shift, or using the bathroom.
Since the bedside is a less visible area of the home to guests, you can pay more attention to your personal tastes and style with this table lamp choice. We recommend choosing an unconventional modern bedside lamp that makes you smile, or a calming lamp in muted tones that makes you feel more relaxed when you look at it. It’s the little things, like looking at a lovely antique-inspired lamp, that can set the tone for a great day (or a great night of sleep!) ahead.

The vintage-inspired Oriental Butterfly and Dragonfly Porcelain Mini Lamp will brighten your bedside
Table Lamp Anatomy: Key Parts to Know
• Lamp Harp: The piece that connects the lamp to the lamp shade
• Plug Parts: The prongs that allow you to connect your lamp to a socket power source
• Socket Shell: The base into which you can screw the lightbulb for your lamp
• Cardboard: Acts as an insulator between the outer shell of the socket where the switch is located and the inner shell of the socket

Do you have questions about these parts or table lamp assembly? Please contact Shades of Light’s customer support!