Affordable (Non-tacky) Table Lamps You Will Love!

Dear Laurel,

I’m a little nervous about the state of things in the world and need to be careful so I’m not living beyond my means. I was looking at some of your table lamps and then saw some others online and I was shocked at how expensive so many of them are.

Then, I looked at the cheap ones and well, they look cheap.

So, I’m hoping you can help those who want nice things but can’t afford to spend more than about $300 for one lamp, not $3,000. I know some lovely lamps under $1,000, but that’s still too much for my budget.

Thanks,

Chyna Bass

***

Hi Chyna,

I hear ya. I think most of us are concerned since the stock market just tanked, and that’s not usually a good thing. About what’s behind that, I cannot discuss. Anyway, you came to the right place because I’m always on the lookout for a great bargain. Can you believe, I’ve been doing the Hot Sales pages for nearly eight years?

Plus, I love beautiful lamps. But, you’re right. So many of them have gotten absurdly expensive. That’s one reason why I love vintage lamps. They’re classy looking and often more affordable.

However, some new lamps on the market are still under or just a hair over $300.

 

One of the worst decorating sins is to have a beautiful room with cheap-looking lamps.

 

Table lamps are the jewelry of a room, and tacky is not a good look.

It’s like putting on a Chanel suit with a plastic pearl necklace. Right?

 

Below are things that shout: “I’M A CHEAP LAMP!”

 

• If it’s a traditional lamp and any part is made of chrome, that’s no good.

 

 

See what I mean??

 

Is there a solution? Well, it might be possible to put a faux finish on it. We’ll get to that in a bit.

Many inexpensive lamps have bases in acrylic, wood, or brass, which are usually fine. However, the brass might be shiny and awful, too. But it’s a little easier to change that than if it’s a chrome finish.

 

Another issue you can see above is:

 

• A lampshade that’s revealing too much of the neck. Actually, I prefer that no neck is seen, unless sitting down. Then, it’s difficult to avoid.

 

I went over this in a post about lampshades from a while back. Sometimes, the lampshade is too small, but most of the time, it’s the harp that’s too BIG.

And for some inexpensive lamps that come with a lampshade, they send the wrong size harp. I see this often. So, assuming the lampshade is the right size, the solution is simple. Buy a new harp, an inch or two smaller.

Below, we’ve got two strikes with chrome and an exposed neck.

Another thing that irks me about many of the cheap table lamps in the marketplace is a cheap, plastic-looking glaze on a ceramic lamp.

 

IF it’s a metal lamp, painting the base is easier than if it’s ceramic. Remember what the fabulously talented William McLure did to some vintage lamps?

Otherwise, it’s better to look for a lamp that has a nice finish to begin with.

If it’s a blue and white Chinoiserie lamp, nothing screams out CHEAP LAMP more than an obviously non-hand-painted design. Or, the design is too precious, lacking in style and sophistication.

 

I’m sitting on the fence about this one. I love these lamps’ shape, size, and proportion, but the blue and white design leaves me a little underwhelmed.

The blue and white Chinoiserie table lamp above has a more authentic and interesting design, and it’s only about $150! I would consider painting the base black and getting a more interesting finial.

 

The final hallmark of a cheap table lamp is that the proportions and shape don’t feel quite right.

 

However, there are plenty of expensive lamps that don’t feel quite right to me, as well. :]

Above is an example I saved earlier today. Oh dear. The total height of this monster table lamp is 34″. That right, there is very tall- I prefer no more than about 31″ with the finial. The width of the shade is 15″. The shade’s height is about 10″, meaning the base is two feet high!

In this post, we looked at the proper proportions for the lamp base with the lampshade.

 

The height of the lamp shade should only be about 40% of the total height of the lamp. Therefore, the lamp base should be about 16″ high, not 24″.

 

 

That’s better!

 

Now, let’s look at some ideas for making that cheap little lamp above look not-as-cheap.

 

 

So, what did I do here?

I saw that on the original lamp that the shade is 14″ wide, which looks about right, but it could be one inch less. So, I found a 13″ cone shade, and aside from the fact that the perspective is off compared to the base, I think it looks rather nice. Wayfair has zillions of lampshades in various materials, styles, and prices. Changing a lampshade is a great way to perk up an old or tired lamp.

 

Then, I decided to ixnay the tacky finial. Instead, I found this lovely crystal finial. Be careful not to get something too big for a small lamp. I couldn’t find antique brass, but we can take care of that, also.This one measures 1.5″ in total, which sounds about right. For more finials, click here.

Then, I took some virtual rub ‘n buff.

Another post shows how a clever blogger took a dilapidated little brass task lamp and made it quite a lovely thing with rub ‘n buff.

 

If you have questions about arriving at the perfect size lamp shade, please check out this post if you missed it earlier. Most of these are rules for a regular side table lamp. If it’s a tall, skinny buffet lamp, of course, those rules don’t apply as much.

 

What Size Should a Table Lamp Be?

 

These are my general guidelines, with emphasis on “general” as there are always exceptions due to the many variables.

(Consider getting 333 Rules & Tips You Need to Know for a much more detailed guide.)

 

For our purposes, let’s begin with the living room.

 

Most of the time, there are lamps on the side or end table. I have done some skinny end tables for clients. But, to have a lamp on the table, if it’s a rectangle, the table needs to be at least 12″ wide, and then I would do a skinny lamp, maybe 27″ tall.

 

Below, I made a graphic for typical heights, using an English roll arm sofa.

 

 

If your table lamp is skinny, you could go with a taller lamp. And if you have a more chunky table lamp, then you could probably go down to 23.”

However, I see end tables that are 28″ on up and table lamps that are 34″ and up, and it all starts to look very weird to me. That is… with a normal-sized sofa. We looked at more ideal proportions and shapes for sofas and chairs in other posts.

 

Okay, let’s look at some terrific-looking, moderately-priced table lamps.

 

There are so many wonderful cheap table lamps these days. Please enjoy 30 of my favorites. A few are over $300, but the lamps are sensational.  And most are well under $300 for a single lamp. Some are sold in pairs, some are one-of-a-kind, and others are vintage pairs.

Please click on any image if you’d like to learn more about it.

 

Oh, for lamps at One Kings Lane and not on sale, you can get 20% off by using the promo code 20OFF. That works on nearly everything!

 

 

Please enjoy another bonus widget!

 

Please pin to Pinterest for reference.

xo,

 

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