How To Pick The Right Lamp For Your Room

Here our Bun­galow 5 Christina Porce­lain Lamps sit beau­ti­fully atop this con­sole. Photo cour­tesy of Bun­galow 5.

Finding the per­fect lamp for your room isn’t rocket sci­ence!  With so many heights and sizes around though, it can often feel that way.

Here are a few quick tips that will have you lighting up your life — and room — cor­rectly in no time at all!

1.  Use the 1/​3 to 1/​2 rule of thumb.

The shade should typ­i­cally be 1/​3 to 1/​2 the size of the height of the base.  Your shade diam­eter is ulti­mately decided depending on what size the table is that your lamp will be placed.  The bigger the table, the bigger the shade!

Here our Jute Table Lamp is a great example of the 1/​3 rule. Photo cour­tesy of Pinterest.

2.  Con­sis­tency is always key!

The decor in your home should be reflected in the shape of shade you choose.  Bell shaped shades work best with tra­di­tional decor, while parch­ment drum shades always work beau­ti­fully in more modern spaces.  Box pleated shades can go either way and often work best in a room where the feel is more transitional.

Here our Arte­riors Home Batik Blue and White Porce­lain Lamp, as seen on our web­site, shows how classic style with a modern pleated shade can merge beautifully.

3. To pair or not to pair…

If you have two lamps in the same room that are dif­ferent styles, do not worry, just make sure their heights are within 2 inches of each other.  When pairing two of the same lamps in a room, it is best to use them on either side of a sofa.  Play up the drama by using larger end tables with larger lamps for an instant bit of dra­matic flair for any space.  Another great use is to put a con­sole table behind a sofa and flank it with two iden­tical lamps.

In this photo found on Pin­terest, two lamps are shown flanking the con­sole table behind this sofa.

Have we inspired you?  Need a new lamp or two for your own space?  Check out some of our favorite lamps for any space!