A table lamp makes a good gift for the home when it suits the room it will live in. Start with the interior, not the lamp: pale and calm, dark and warm, small and full. Then match the material and the size. Below are six of our lamps, each paired with one kind of interior.
How do you choose a lamp for someone else's home?
You rarely know a room as well as the person who lives in it. Three questions narrow the choice.
- Where will it stand? A nightstand, a console table and a sideboard call for different sizes. Our lamps run from 8.3 to 19.7 inches tall, and the table lamp size guide lists each one.
- Is there an outlet nearby? Eleven of our thirteen lamps plug in. Only Silex and Auren are rechargeable, so only they can go on a dining table or a covered table outdoors with no cord.
- What is the palette? Pale stone for a light room. Dark marble or bronze for wood and deep colors. A single lacquered color for someone who likes contrast.
One note for any stone lamp. Marble and travertine are natural, so the veining of the lamp you give will differ from the photos. The shape and the proportions will not.
Six lamps for six interiors
Each of the six below is one of our designer table lamps. None is a reading lamp: all give ambient light, the kind that sets the mood of a room in the evening.
For a pale, quiet interior: Tellur
Tellur is one color from base to top: a tapered base of taupe travertine and a drum of matching woven fabric. With a single color, texture does the work. At 12.6 inches tall, it suits a nightstand, a side table or a console table.
For dark wood and art on the walls: Sillon
A dark bronze dome sits over a beige travertine base, joined by a slim stem that runs through a groove in the stone. At 18.9 inches tall, Sillon holds its own on a sideboard with a painting above it.
For someone who entertains: Auren
Auren is cordless. A base of natural stone carries a wide drum of textured fabric, and a full charge gives about 12 hours of light. It moves from the living room to the dining table, then out to a covered table outdoors.
For a small apartment: Colonne
At 5.1 inches wide, Colonne goes where most lamps cannot: a full bedside table, a narrow shelf. The base is dark brown fluted aluminum; the shade, a tall cylinder of light beige linen. Two on a console table make a symmetrical pair.
For a collector of color: Rubra
Rubra is the smallest lamp in the collection, 8.3 inches tall, in a high-gloss deep burgundy over a polymer composite body. It sits among books, on a nightstand or on a bar cart, wherever a small note of color is welcome.
For a lover of objects: Strates
Strates is made entirely of marble: two discs of warm white stone with deep violet veining, stacked on a straight stem, with the light concealed between them. Switched off, it holds its place as an object.
Delivery, packing and returns
Standard delivery is free in the United States and takes 8 to 12 days. Express delivery takes 6 to 10 days, and its price is shown at checkout. If the lamp is meant for a date, plan for that time.
Each lamp is packed by hand, with stone, glass and metal protected separately. If it arrives damaged, report it within 7 days with photos, and we will replace it or refund it.
If the lamp does not suit the room, it can be returned within 30 days. Return shipping is paid by the customer, and the return policy gives the details.
From the collection
- Tellur: taupe travertine base, matching woven fabric drum; 12.6 in tall.
- Auren: natural stone base, textured fabric shade, cordless and rechargeable; 9.4 in tall.
- Strates: two discs of Calacatta Viola-type marble, satin finish; 12.6 in tall.
Questions
Which lamp is easiest to give without knowing the room?
A small lamp is the safer choice. Colonne, at 5.1 inches wide, and Rubra, at 8.3 inches tall, fit a nightstand, a shelf or a desk. Auren needs no outlet at all, so the question of where to plug it in never comes up. All three take very little space.
How long does delivery take?
Standard delivery in the United States is free and takes 8 to 12 days. Express delivery takes 6 to 10 days; its cost is shown at checkout, before you pay. For a birthday or a holiday, order with those times in mind, so the lamp arrives before the day itself.
Is a table lamp a good gift for someone who reads in bed?
Choose it for the mood, not for reading. Our lamps give ambient light: they set the tone of a bedroom, but they are not reading lamps. A low bedside lamp such as Colonne or Lysa adds warmth to the evening. For long reading, a dedicated reading light works better beside it.
Choose by room first, then by material. See all thirteen designer table lamps.