When you are trying to fix the issue of a dark room or a poorly lit one, because chandeliers can not always light the entire room, and adding another fixture can be difficult or inconvenient, so the best solution is to add a table lamp. But choosing this little piece can be more than what it looks, homeowners or interior designers sometime make mistakes that will make the table lamp feel out of place.

Table lamps should feel natural when added to the room. It should not feel forced or strange to the room's environment. Table lamps should not just be bought based light output or just based on its performance, table lamps must be both beautiful and functional. Here are some mistakes we should avoid when buying a table lamp:

·        The perfect hight:
Whatever the type of the table the lamp is going on, the combined hight of both table and lamp must feel natural and cohesive with the rest of the room. A good rule of thumb when choosing the table lamp is that the combined hight of both table and the lamp should be between 147CM and 162CM. this rule can even work for floor lamps in some cases. This rule can help make the table lamp be a part of the room and an addition to the room.

·        Unmatching sizes and shapes:

This mistake is very common, having a small lamp on a big table will make the lamp look very small or vice versa, if the table was small and the table lamp was large, that will make the table lamp looks uncomfortably big, which will also affect the sofa or the chair next to it looks wrong and disproportionate, if the table is big and heavy it will accept a visually heavy large lamp. If the table is small or petite it will accept a lighter and more delicate lamp.

·        The lampshade:

Another common mistake to fall in while choosing a lamp, another rule to use here is the lampshade diameter should be larger than the lamp body height by 5CM. this is a nice ratio to have a balanced a table lamp. The height of the lampshade is important, when sitting next to the table lamp the bottom of the should be at eye level or the light coming from the light bulb will directly hit your eyes and its going to be uncomfortable. Another aspect is the color of the lampshade, usually lampshades should be a light color to allow the light to passthrough and give more light, on the other hand some lampshades can be a dark color, darker color lampshades will allow the light the light to shine from the top and the bottom which will give more of a dramatic vibe to the room.

·        Choosing a wrong or uncomplimentary color:

As we previously mentioned, the table lamp must be cohesive and natural with the room, the color of the lamp and lampshade must be cohesive as well. A rule that can possibly help is the 3 color, which is your main color and two other complementary colors, and by that the colors of the table lamp and the colors of the room are naturally blended.

·        Too much matching:

Table lamps don’t have to match, in fact it is better if they don’t match, the only important thing is that all the table lamps must have something in common, either color, lampshade, metal finish, or shape.

·        Using table lamps only:

To get a well-lit room you need you need a lighting plan, to make sure all areas have good lighting, we can use general lighting fixtures like chandeliers or ceiling lights. And to cover the other smaller areas we can use task lights, like table lamps or floor lamps. Task lights are the lights that are used for a special task, like reading lights. Its not a good practice to use just task lights to light the entire room. You must use general lighting and task lighting and even try to use a variety of each type.