Art Deco Table Lamps

What a Deco table lamp looks like

The base carries the style. Stepped tiers, fluted columns, spheres on plinths and stylised figures are all Deco signatures, usually in polished brass, gold, chrome or marble. The shade tends to be geometric too: a straight-sided drum, a fan, or a domed glass shade rather than a soft gathered fabric one.

Sizing a lamp to its table

As a guide the lamp should be no more than about one and a half times the height of the table it sits on, and the shade should not overhang the table edge. On a bedside table the bottom of the shade sitting near eye height when you are sitting up in bed keeps the bulb out of view. On a console, a taller lamp balances the length of the piece.

Glass, marble and metal

Fluted and reeded glass is the most recognisable Deco material and catches light along each ridge, so it changes as you move past it. Opal glass gives an even glow and hides the lamp entirely, which is the calmer choice on a bedside table. Marble bases add weight and period accuracy and pair naturally with brass, though they need a surface that can take the load and a dry room. Chrome and nickel read cooler and suit a monochrome or black-and-white scheme; brass and gold warm a room and sit better against wood and darker paint.

Where they work

A pair on a sideboard or console gives the symmetry the style is built on, and it is worth buying two even if only one is lit most evenings. A single lamp beside a chair works as a reading light if the shade is open at the bottom and the lamp is tall enough to clear the arm. In a bedroom, a matching pair either side of the bed is the usual arrangement and keeps both sides usable. Deco lamps also sit well in an otherwise plain room, where the geometry does the work and nothing else has to compete with it.

Bulbs, switches and dimming

Most take a standard E27 or a small E14 bulb, bought separately. Warm white around 2700K suits the metals. Many have an inline switch on the flex or a switch on the base, which matters if the lamp will sit behind furniture or against a wall where a base switch is hard to reach. For dimming, use a dimmable bulb with an inline or plug-in dimmer, since a table lamp is not usually wired to a wall dimmer.

Shades: fabric, glass and what changes

The shade decides how the lamp behaves. A fabric drum sends light up and down and leaves the sides glowing softly, which suits a sitting room. A glass dome or fan contains the light and throws most of it downward, giving a brighter pool and a darker room around it. An opal glass shade lit from within becomes part of the light rather than a cover over it, which is the most period-accurate Deco effect and the reason so many originals used moulded glass rather than cloth.

Care and stability

Polished metal and glass wipe clean with a soft dry cloth. Marble should be kept dry and not cleaned with acidic products, so no vinegar and no bathroom spray. Check the base weight if the lamp will sit somewhere it could be knocked; a tall lamp on a light base is less stable than the same lamp on marble, and a heavy glass shade raises the centre of gravity further. Where a lamp sits on a hall console within reach of a door, the base weight matters more than anything else on the specification.