Funky Table Lamps Australia: Choosing Colour, Shape and Scale

A lamp is a fairly small thing to change in a room. Put an orange one on a pale timber sideboard, though, and you notice it straight away. The same shape in Crème feels much quieter.

That's the appeal of funky table lamps: you can choose something with a bit of personality without having to rethink all the furniture around it. The harder part is choosing one you'll still like once it's sitting next to your books, cables and half-finished cup of tea.

We design and make our lamps in Melbourne. Our background is architecture and computational design, so we're interested in how a shape sits in a room, as well as how it looks in a product photo. These are the things we'd look at before buying.

Start with the spot where it will live

Have a look at the table first. A bedside lamp has to share its space with everyday things. On a sideboard, there's usually more room for a broad shade or a taller piece.

Check both the height and the widest part of the lamp. It's easy to notice the height in a listing and overlook how much of your bedside table the shade will occupy. If you're unsure, cut out a paper outline at roughly the right size. Even a rough version helps.

Then look from the doorway. Will the lamp sit below an artwork, overlap it, or disappear behind the sofa? Those relationships matter more than whether the lamp looks large on a white background.

Pick the shape you keep coming back to

Iris has flowing pleats and a wavy outline. Harp Echo has stacked curves and a more regular rhythm. Both have plenty of detail, but they give quite different impressions.

If you like something more organic, look at Mycelia. The ribs follow the idea of the gills beneath a mushroom cap. Soft Serve takes its shape in a flowing, swirled direction.

With any unusual lamp, spend a moment looking at the unlit photos. That's how you'll see it for much of the day.

A little colour goes a long way

Mandarin against warm timber is a combination we like. Flamingo brings pink into the room, while Crème lets the folds and shadows do more of the work.

You can pick up a colour from a print or a rug, but every object doesn't have to match. Leave the lamp some space and see how it looks with what you already own.

Colours vary between designs, so check the options for the lamp you've chosen. Compare its lit and unlit images as well. Light passing through a shade changes its appearance.

Think about the evenings, too

Our sculptural lamps are designed for ambient lighting. They're for the bedside, the living room corner or the sideboard you want to light in the evening. If you read or work in that spot, check whether you also need a focused task light.

Look at where the power point is and how you'll reach the switch. For a lamp you can move around, our cordless range is another option. The cordless buying guide covers charging and the details worth checking.

Get a close look at the finish

We print our shades in PLA, a plant-derived thermoplastic. The fine layers are visible on the surface. If you're used to smooth ceramic or glass, have a look at the close-up photographs so you know what to expect.

You'll find more about the material in our 3D printed lamp guide. Customer photos in the reviews are useful for seeing the lamps among real furniture, too.

Browse the table lamps when you're ready, or have a look through Studio Editions for one-off colour and design trials. If you're still deciding on a style, our Cool Lamps Australia guide brings a few different directions together.