Table Lamps

A table lamp is the light you read by and the one still on after the ceiling light goes off. It sits at eye level, close to where people sit, which means the shade does as much work as the globe inside it.

It is also the easiest change to make in a room. No wiring, no permission from a landlord, nothing to patch afterwards. Moving one lamp from a corner to a side table changes how a living room feels at night more than repainting it would.

What's in this range

There are 9 lamps in this collection, priced from $50 to $300 in Australian dollars. Listed heights run from 28 cm to 38 cm, and the shades and bodies measure between 8.5 cm and 15 cm across. Listed wattage sits between 5 W and 15 W, which is what an LED needs to do the work an old 40 W or 60 W globe used to do.

The materials are deliberately mixed: a ceramic base, acrylic with iron, an iron body, a resin ornament, natural crystal salt and a fabric shade. Every lamp here runs on LED, either integrated, included with the lamp or supplied as an E27 globe in the box. Power is split between mains lamps rated for 90 to 260 V and cordless models that charge over USB. Controls include touch dimming, stepless touch dimming, a remote and a push button, and three product pages state whether the lamp dims. Two lamps list a choice of warm, neutral and cool white. Bedsides, living rooms and reading corners are the places named most often, followed by desks, children's rooms and gifts.

How to choose

Corded or cordless

A mains lamp never needs charging and gives the same output all evening. A cordless lamp needs no power point at all, so it can go on a shelf, a mantelpiece or an outdoor table, and it can be carried outside for dinner and brought back in. Three lamps here are cordless and charge over USB. If that flexibility is the point, see rechargeable lamps.

Height against the surface

Lamps in this range stand between 28 cm and 38 cm. On a bedside table the useful test is whether the bottom of the shade sits near eye level when you are sitting up in bed, because that is what keeps the globe out of sight and the light on the page. Beside a low sofa, the same 38 cm lamp will feel taller than it measures.

What the shade is made of

A fabric or frosted shade spreads a soft, even light and hides the source. Glass and acrylic show more of the globe and throw sharper shadows. Ceramic and metal bases direct almost all the light up and down rather than sideways. None of these is a fault, but they suit different jobs: reading wants soft and downward, atmosphere wants sideways and visible.

Dimming

Three lamps here state their dimming behaviour, and two of them dim steplessly by touch. A lamp that dims can be a reading light at nine and a low glow at eleven. A lamp with a single output has to be chosen for one of those two jobs. If you only buy one lamp for a bedroom, buy one that dims.

Whether a globe is included

Some lamps here arrive with the LED already built in, one comes with an E27 globe supplied and others state that a globe is included. Check the light source line so you are not left with a lamp and nothing to put in it. Spare globes are in light bulbs.

Frequently asked questions

Which lamp suits a bedside table?

One that stands roughly 28 cm to 31 cm, dims, and has a shade that hides the globe from someone lying down. Several lamps in this range are built for that. For how the rest of the room fits together, see bedroom lights.

Can I use a table lamp to work by?

You can, but a lamp with an aimed head does the job better because it puts light on the page rather than in the room. If the lamp will sit on a desk most of the day, see desk lamps.

How long does a cordless lamp run for?

It varies by model and by the brightness setting, and each product page states its own figure. There is no single runtime for the range, so read the page for the lamp you are considering.

Are these lamps dimmable with a wall dimmer?

The dimming lamps here are controlled on the lamp itself, by touch or by remote, not by a wall switch. If you want wall dimming on a mains lamp with a replaceable globe, you need a dimmable LED globe and a dimmer rated for LEDs.

Is the $300 lamp brighter than the $50 one?

No. Price in this range tracks the base material and the size, not the output. Listed wattage across all nine lamps sits between 5 W and 15 W. Choose on height, shade and dimming, then on how the lamp looks when it is switched off.