How tall should a table lamp be?

Tall enough that the bottom of the shade sits around eye level when you are sitting next to it, so you see the glow and not the bulb. On a bedside table that usually means something between 40cm and 55cm; on a low side table by a sofa, a little taller.

Linen lets light through warmly and unevenly, so the shade glows rather than just blocking the bulb. A white plastic or card shade gives a flatter, cooler light. A rattan shade, like the small Alios, scatters it instead.

Will these ship to me?

All six come from La Redoute's Dutch shop, which delivers in the Netherlands. Each piece says where it ships before you click.

Guide

Ceramic and Linen Table Lamps

Six table lamps with linen or woven shades on ceramic, wood and hemp bases, from €25 to €279. The lamps that actually light a warm, dark room after dinner.

Haze Homes5 October 2026

If I could only buy one kind of light for a room, it would be a table lamp with a linen shade. Ceiling lights decide how a room looks at noon. Lamps decide how it feels at nine in the evening, which is when I am actually in it.

A linen shade glows. The weave lets light through warmly and a little unevenly, and the room picks up a soft, low pool rather than a hard circle. Put that on a ceramic or wooden base with some weight to it, and the lamp is worth looking at even when it is off.

Bases with some character

I like a base that is clearly made of something. A glazed ceramic with a bit of colour, a turned wooden column, a lump of hemp. Two of these are not ceramic at all, the Vintela in rubberwood and the Dryade in oak, and I have kept them because they sit in exactly the same kind of room.

Light low and in several places

Three or four lamps at different heights will do more for a room than any ceiling fitting. Keep the bulbs warm and low in wattage: several of these are specified for LED bulbs of 10W or less, none come with a bulb, and that is the right brightness for this kind of light. There is more on placement in how to light a room, and a bedroom built around a single lamp in a bedroom with one good lamp.

Common questions

How tall should a table lamp be?: Tall enough that the bottom of the shade sits around eye level when you are sitting next to it, so you see the glow and not the bulb. On a bedside table that usually means something between 40cm and 55cm; on a low side table by a sofa, a little taller.
Why linen shades?: Linen lets light through warmly and unevenly, so the shade glows rather than just blocking the bulb. A white plastic or card shade gives a flatter, cooler light. A rattan shade, like the small Alios, scatters it instead.
Will these ship to me?: All six come from La Redoute's Dutch shop, which delivers in the Netherlands. Each piece says where it ships before you click.