Am I Picking the Wrong Size Table Lamps? This Scale Ratio Might Make Your Home Look Much More Expensive
Pay attention to the dimensions of your lamp before you order if you want a room that feels grand and luxurious, says a stylist
A few weeks ago, we held the inaugural Livingetc Unlocked, a new event that combined real house tours with live workshops and talks. Having walked the houses around the Clapham neighborhood of London myself, I picked up a lot of design lessons. But maybe the one that stuck with me most is that I very much might be buying the wrong size table lamp.
The wrong size? Well, the wrong scale. In my own home, I choose table lamps that I feel are appropriate for the size of my house, but having seen some of the incredible lighting in the Unlocked houses, the majority from our sponsor Lights & Lamps, I think I might need grander ambitions.
But, what's the right size to light a room well? Let's investigate, with the help of our in-house stylist.
The size of the Calcott Tall table lamp from Lights & Lamps actually reads very well across this bedroom scheme, perhaps better than I would have expected.
Because, realistically, the bigger the lamp is not always the better. "As a stylist, I always judge a lamp’s scale against the furniture beneath it," explains Design Lab by Livingetc stylist Miaad Latoof. Large homes with large pieces of furniture can, it stands to reason, take larger decor, but when you're working in a smaller space, you want to make sure things don't feel out of balance in the interior design.
"You want enough breathing room around the base and shade so it feels balanced, even when you’re going big," Miaads adds. "I like to treat an oversized lamp almost like sculpture, using it to add height, texture, and bold, dramatic shape, especially when the rest of the room feels low or a little flat. It gives the eye another place to land and brings a stronger sense of balance to the room."
What I've taken from the examples I saw? Don't do 'top-heavy', but you can do balanced. An oversized table lamp that has similar proportions to the table it's sat on can work, because it gives you this 'totem pole'-like effect that can work. If you have a big chunky lamp on a table with a slight, thin base, it's going to look uneasy, as if it could topple at any time. And that's the sort of disruptive feeling you don't want for your home.
So, would you consider looking at a bigger size next time you shop for a table lamp?
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