Once seen as simply a source of light, the table lamp is now as much in demand as a highly decorative accessory. Consider it jewellery for your home.
Table lamps have always been a beacon of light to dark corners, but it’s their ‘off’ mode that really transforms the room. Think of them as a decorator’s best friend, boosting any space with a quick fix of texture, height and colour. And that’s before you’ve even turned them on. While the lamp base takes centre stage, the lampshade has become ‘the new cushion cover accessory of the lighting world, providing a quick room update,’ suggests Bath-based interior designer Sean Symington. ‘A rattan shade adds texture, linen adds warmth and cosiness, while printed designs provide pattern,’ he continues, and each of these styles are just as impactful when the lights are dimmed.
The flexibility of table lamps is another argument for their popularity. You don’t need to make a long-term commitment to placement or invest in concealing wires. Used on a console in the hallway to provide a warm welcome one month and placed by your sofa-side for a cocooning wash of light the next. ‘I love the idea of using lamps on a drinks’ trolley, or nestled into bookshelves. It creates an atmosphere and draws you into a moment in the room,’ says Sean, who often uses a pair of lamps at either end of a desk rather than a more obvious directional task light. ‘We recently used two large lamps on a kitchen island instead of overhead pendants for a more flattering low-level light and unexpected decorative element in the room.’
Lamps can be dainty accessories or dramatic pieces of sculpture. Take our new solid oak Dawes table lamp with its curvaceous spherical design and handcrafted linen shade. It was influenced by the revival of the bobbin style, once popular in the mid-seventeenth century for adding a feeling of decadence to otherwise plain furniture. The glow-up treatment promotes lamps to structural objects of desire in their own right. Equally, our solid oak Mason table lamp has a distinctly recognisable design, moulding itself into the shape of an iconic chess piece and finished with a modern brass base. You’d be forgiven for mistaking it as a piece of art whether the lamp is on or off.
