Floor Lamp vs Table Lamp: Which Do You Need?
By Metify Homes
The honest answer is that it depends on one thing you already know: whether there is a table where you want the light.
A table lamp needs a surface. A floor lamp needs floor. Once you look at the spot with that in mind, the choice usually makes itself. The rest of this post is for the cases where it does not.
Side by side
| Floor lamp | Table lamp | |
|---|---|---|
| What it stands on | The floor | A side table, console, shelf or desk |
| Space it uses | 10 to 24 in of floor (25 to 60 cm), depending on type | None of its own, but it takes up tabletop |
| Height of the light | 4 to 6 ft from the floor | Depends on the table, usually 3.5 to 4.5 ft |
| Light it gives | More, and from higher up, so it spreads further | Softer and closer, lights the area around the table |
| Moving it | Easy to shift to another corner | Moves with the table, or to any other surface |
| With small children or pets | Can be pulled or knocked over if the base is light | Safer on a high surface, but the cable can be tugged |
| Daily cleaning | Has to be moved for mopping | Stays where it is |
| Usually bought as | One | Often a pair |
When a floor lamp is the better choice
There is no table and no room for one. A corner, the gap beside a wardrobe, the space behind a sofa. A floor lamp turns those into lit spots without adding furniture.
You want one lamp to change the whole room. Because the light starts higher, a floor lamp with a fabric shade can replace the ceiling light for the evening. A single table lamp rarely can.
You need light over a seat. An arc lamp reaches over a sofa in a way no table lamp does.
You rent, or you rearrange often. A floor lamp goes wherever there is a socket, and comes with you when you move.
Browse the shapes in our floor lamps collection.
When a table lamp is the better choice
Beside the bed. You want the switch within reach of your hand and the light below your eye line when you lie down. A table lamp on a side table does that naturally. A floor lamp can, but most are too tall for it.
On a console at the entrance. A lamp on a console table lights the wall, the mirror and the surface in one go, and it is what makes an entrance look finished.
In a room that is already full. If every bit of floor has something on it, use the surfaces you have.
In pairs, for symmetry. Two matching lamps on two side tables, either side of a bed or a sofa, is the easiest way to make a room look planned. Pairs are a table-lamp habit. The Compact Haitral lamp pair is sold that way for this reason.
See all the options in table lamps.
Common situations
“My side tables are small.” If a lamp base would leave no space for a phone and a cup, use a floor lamp beside the table, or a lamp with a narrow base.
“I have toddlers.” A table lamp on a high console, with the cable tucked behind, is harder to reach than anything standing on the floor. If you want a floor lamp, choose one with a wide, heavy base and put it behind furniture.
“I want to read in bed and my husband wants to sleep.” A small table lamp with a shade that points down, on your side only. A floor lamp spreads too much.
“The room has one socket.” One lamp, then. Put it where you sit, and pick the type by whether that spot has a table.
“I want the lounge to feel warmer at night.” A floor lamp first. Add a table lamp on the far side of the room later.
Use both, at different heights
Rooms that feel comfortable at night nearly always have light at more than one height: something high, something at table level, something low. A ceiling light, a floor lamp in one corner and a table lamp on the other side gives you three levels, and you can switch between them through the evening. Bright for guests. Floor lamp only for TV. Table lamp only when the children are asleep.
You do not need to buy everything at once. Start with whichever spot annoys you most.
The bulb matters more than the type
Whichever you choose, use a warm white LED, 2700K to 3000K. Seven to nine watts suits a table lamp. Nine to twelve suits a floor lamp. Check whether the holder is E27 (screw) or B22 (pin) before buying bulbs. A good lamp with a harsh blue-white bulb will disappoint you, and a plain lamp with the right bulb will not.