Lighting guide
Where to put a lamp, and how tall it should be
Two lamps of identical quality can feel completely different in a room depending on where they sit and how tall they are. Neither is a matter of taste. Both come down to where the bottom edge of the shade lands relative to your eyes.
The one rule that matters
The bottom of the shade should sit at or just below eye level when you are seated where you normally sit. Above that line and you see the bulb, which glares. Well below it and the light pools on the table instead of reaching you.
That is the whole principle. Everything else is arithmetic from it.
Practical heights
- Bedside. Seated eye level in bed is roughly 100 to 110 cm from the floor. On a 55 to 65 cm bedside table that means a lamp of about 35 to 45 cm.
- Beside a sofa. Seated eye level is around 105 to 115 cm. On a 55 cm side table, a lamp of 45 to 60 cm.
- On a desk. Lower. You want light on the work surface, not in your face: 35 to 45 cm, positioned to the side of your writing hand.
- On a console or sideboard. These are tall already, around 80 cm, so a shorter lamp of 30 to 40 cm usually sits right.
Placement, room by room
In a bedroom, a lamp on each side of the bed if it is shared, so neither person controls the other's light. In a sitting room, the far corner first, then beside the main seat. At a desk, opposite your writing hand so your hand does not cast a shadow across the page.
Avoid the centre of a room. A lamp in the middle of a space lights nothing usefully and gets knocked.
Spacing between lamps
If you are using two or more lamps in one room, keep them apart rather than clustered. Light from opposite corners creates the depth that makes a room feel larger. Two lamps side by side simply make one brighter pool and leave the rest of the room darker by contrast.