Tall Table Lamps To Add Height and Flair to Your Living Room — These 12 Options Draw the Eye Up (2024)

When it comes to high ceilings and large spaces, tall table lamps are, believe it or not, crucial. If your lamp is too small on your table or hutch, it will appear completely overwhelmed by the space (and probably won't cast the right amount of light, either). In most cases, you want a lamp that feels proportional to the room it's in, unless you're going for a smaller accent or task lighting look intentionally.

As I continue rounding up some of the best table lamps to buy, I'm turning my attention now toward tall table lamps, in particular, which I am classifying as at least 24" tall, though I'm sure you could argue the threshold starts both above and below that point depending. In any case, these table lamps are perfect for large rooms with high ceilings and sprawling floor plans, the ones in which all furniture and decor must be big enough lest it appear dwarfed by empty space.

'Large living rooms demand larger, taller lamps so that they look in proportion to the dimensions of the room space,' said John Barnes, a design expert at Lamps Plus. 'You can also use [a] taller lamp on a console table or entryway table to add a grand welcoming style to the area.'

In a dining room, for instance, a tall lamp might warm up the space when placed on a sideboard or buffet. 'These designs are typically over 30" high,' John continued, 'and have a thin, slender profile so that they don't take space away from the buffet table surface.'

So let's get into some shopping — here are some of our favorites tall table lamps.

12 editor-approved tall table lamps

How big should a lamp be on a table?

When determining the best-sized lamp for your table, there are a few things to think about, John said. First, you should ask what you need the lamp for. 'If all you need is a reference or accent light for style, then the lamp can be very small, say under 20" high. It can be completely decorative even, as you won't be using it as a task light.'

But if you'd like to use the lamp for reading, you'll want to follow the 'eye level' rule. 'The idea here is that when seated on a sofa or chair, the bottom of the shade should line up with your eye level so that the light source doesn't shine directly into your eyes.' That means 'the height of the lamp will be determined in part by the height of your side table and seating.'

And of course, you should also consider the size of the room in question. 'Living rooms in newer homes are much larger than in homes from decades past, with higher ceilings and bigger floor plans,' John continued. 'If you use [a] small table lamp in such a setting it's going to look out of place, so you want to use a design that has some height to it, say 28" or higher.'