Place the lamp so the bottom of the shade sits at eye level when you are seated - roughly 100 to 110 cm off the floor - and choose a warm white bulb around 2700 kelvin. Those two numbers fix the two things people notice: glare in the eyes, and light that makes a living room feel like an office.
Why eye level, seated
Above that line you see the bulb itself and the glare washes out everything else in the room. Below it the pool of light falls short of your book and lands on the table instead. Since the lamp sits on a side table, the working sum is table height plus lamp height: a 55 cm table wants a lamp of about 45 to 55 cm.
| Side table height | Lamp height | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 45 cm | 55-65 cm | 100-110 cm |
| 55 cm | 45-55 cm | 100-110 cm |
| 65 cm (console) | 35-45 cm | 100-110 cm |
Light colour, in one number
Warm white at about 2700 kelvin flatters skin, food and wood, and it is what people mean by a homely light. Around 4000 K reads neutral and suits a desk. Above that it goes blue and reads clinical. The single most common mistake is mixing temperatures in one room: two lamps at 2700 K and one at 4000 K looks like something is broken, even when nobody can say why.
Bulbs and dimming
Most of our lamps come without a bulb, and the product description names the fitting - usually E27 or E14. Whether a lamp dims depends entirely on the bulb, not on the lamp: choose a dimmable bulb and a matching dimmer or an inline cord dimmer. Lamps are supplied with a European plug and cord switch unless stated otherwise.
Two lamps beat one ceiling light
A room lit from one point overhead has a single flat mood. Two or three low light sources at different heights give it depth. Combine a table lamp with a floor lamp across the room and leave the ceiling light for when you are cleaning.
See also the rest of our lighting.
By Meike van Dongen · Veem, Amsterdam · 24 August 2026
