How tall should a table lamp be?

Usually 24 to 34 inches, depending on the table. The goal is for the table and lamp together to reach about 58 to 64 inches, which puts the shade's bottom edge near seated eye level.

How tall should a nightstand lamp be?

About 24 to 30 inches for a nightstand that's level with your mattress, so the shade's bottom sits near eye level when you're sitting up in bed.

How do I choose the right lampshade size?

A shade roughly as wide as the lamp's height from base to socket, or a little less, looks balanced. It shouldn't be wider than the table it sits on.

Should two lamps beside a sofa match?

They don't have to, but they should be close in overall height so the room looks level.

What size lamp for a console table?

About two-thirds to three-quarters the height of the mirror or artwork above it — often 26 to 32 inches.

Where should a desk lamp go?

On the side opposite your writing hand, so your hand doesn't cast a shadow, with the light aimed at the work surface.

Table Lamp Size Guide: How Tall & How Wide

How tall a table lamp should be for a nightstand, end table, or console, how wide the shade should be, and how to keep light at eye level. Numbers in inches.

The right table lamp puts the bottom of its shade at about eye level when you're sitting beside it. For most rooms that means the table and lamp together measure roughly 58 to 64 inches from the floor to the top of the shade, and the lamp itself stands 24 to 34 inches tall. Start from the surface it sits on, then choose a lamp that brings the light to where your eyes are.

Here's how to size a lamp for each spot in the house.

The rule that matters: shade bottom at eye level

When you sit next to a lamp, you want light on your book without looking straight at the bulb.

Seated eye level is about 38 to 42 inches from the floor on a typical sofa or bed.
The bottom edge of the shade should land near that height — a little below is fine, well above means glare.
Table height + lamp height (to the top of the shade) usually adds up to 58–64 inches when this works out.

So measure the table first. A 22-inch end table can take a 32- to 34-inch lamp; a 28-inch nightstand needs something closer to 26 to 30 inches.

Where the lamp goes	Typical surface height	Lamp height to try
Nightstand	24–28 in.	24–30 in.
End table beside a sofa	20–26 in.	26–34 in.
Console or sofa table	30–34 in.	26–32 in.
Desk	28–30 in.	18–24 in. (task lamp or adjustable)
Dresser	30–36 in.	24–30 in.

How wide the shade should be

The shade controls both the light and the look.

Shade diameter about equal to the lamp's height from base to socket, or a bit less, keeps the proportions balanced.
On a nightstand or end table, the shade shouldn't overhang the table's edge where it could be knocked, and it shouldn't be wider than the table.
Leave room on the surface: the lamp base should take up no more than about a third of the tabletop.

A drum shade throws more light sideways and suits modern rooms; an empire or tapered shade directs more light down onto a book or tabletop. For fitting and replacing shades, see our lampshade size guide.

Sizing by room

Bedroom

Lamps on nightstands should let you read in bed without leaning into the light. With a nightstand level with your mattress, a lamp of 24 to 30 inches usually lands the shade near your propped-up eye level. If you share the bed, a matched pair keeps both sides even — our nightstand height guide helps get the base right first.

Living room

Beside a sofa, lamps do double duty as reading light and warm ambient light. A taller lamp on a lower end table works well; so does a shorter lamp on a tall table. Keep lamps on either end of a sofa close in overall height so the room looks level.

Entry and console tables

Here the lamp is mostly about glow and balance, not reading. A lamp two-thirds to three-quarters the height of the mirror or art above it looks proportional. Pairs on a long console read formal; a single lamp with a stack of books reads relaxed.

Desk

A desk wants focused light that doesn't shine in your eyes. An adjustable or swing-arm lamp of 18 to 24 inches lets you aim light onto the work surface, placed on the side opposite your writing hand so your hand doesn't cast a shadow.

Scale with the room and the furniture

Large sofas and tall headboards can carry heavier bases and wider shades.
Small tables and tight rooms look better with slim bases and narrower shades.
Very tall lamps on small tables look top-heavy and tip more easily.

Lamps are one layer of a room's lighting. For how they work with ceiling lights and floor lamps, see layered lighting 101.

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The short version

Measure the table, then choose a lamp that brings the bottom of the shade to seated eye level — table plus lamp around 58 to 64 inches, with lamps usually 24 to 34 inches tall. Keep the shade about as wide as the lamp is tall to the socket, never wider than the table, and let the base take up no more than a third of the surface.

Ready to light it right? Shop Table Lamps and match the lamp to the table it sits on.