The number in a Tiffany lamp's name is the shade width, not the height of the lamp. Our core range comes in two shade sizes, 25.4 cm and 40.6 cm (the traditional 10 inch and 16 inch), plus a 30.5 cm wall light and a larger 56 cm floor lamp in the Sullivan family. Everything else follows from that one measurement: how tall the lamp stands, how much light it throws and how much of the room it visually occupies.
The two sizes side by side
25 CM · APPROX. 40 CM TALL
40 CM · 61 CM TALL
| Fitting | Shade width | Overall size | Bulbs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small table lamp | 25.4 cm | approx. 40 cm tall | 1 × E27, max 40 W | Bedside tables, desks, narrow console tables, windowsills |
| Large table lamp | 40.6 cm | 61 cm tall | 2 × E27, max 60 W each | Sideboards, sofa tables, wide chests of drawers, a reading corner |
| Floor lamp | 40.6 cm | 168 cm tall | 2 × E27, max 60 W each | Beside a sofa or armchair, filling an empty corner |
| Flush ceiling light | 25.4 cm | Fits close to the ceiling | 1 × E27 | Hallways, landings, bedrooms and any room with a low ceiling |
| Ceiling light | 40.6 cm | See dimensions drawing | 1 × E27 | Living rooms and bedrooms with standard ceiling height |
| Pendant | 25.4 cm or 40.6 cm | Drop shown on each product page | 1 × E27 | Over a dining table, kitchen island or hallway |
| Wall light | 30.5 cm | See product page | See product page | Either side of a bed, along a hallway, flanking a fireplace |
| Sullivan family | 30, 40 and 56 cm | Small and medium table, pendant, floor | 2 × E27 (table and floor) | A larger statement piece for bigger rooms |
Table lamps: measure the surface first
Put a tape measure across the top of the table the lamp will sit on. A good rule for any table lamp is that the shade should be no wider than about two thirds of the surface, so nothing overhangs the edge where it can be knocked. That gives you a simple cut-off:
- Surface under 40 cm deep (most bedside tables): choose the 25 cm lamp. It leaves room for a book, a glass and a phone.
- Surface 45 to 60 cm deep (a sideboard or console): either size works. The 40 cm lamp will read as the main feature of that wall; the 25 cm lamp will read as an accent.
- Surface over 60 cm deep (a wide sideboard or hall table): the 40 cm lamp, or a pair of 25 cm lamps at either end.
Height matters too. Sitting on a sofa, your eye line is roughly 100 to 110 cm from the floor. A 25 cm lamp on a 55 cm side table puts the bottom of the shade at about 80 cm, so you see the glow rather than the bulb. The 40 cm lamp on the same table puts the shade top at 116 cm, which is fine standing up but can put the bulb at eye level when you are sitting next to it. On a lower table, or on the floor at the end of a sofa, the larger lamp comes into its own.
Floor lamps: 168 cm is taller than you think
Our floor lamps stand 168 cm tall with a 40.6 cm shade. That is around shoulder height for most adults, which is exactly where you want it: the glass sits above the sofa back and the light falls onto the seat and the page. Leave about 30 cm between the shade edge and the wall so the pattern is not lost in a corner, and route the cable behind the furniture rather than across a walkway. See where to position a Tiffany floor lamp for the room-by-room detail.
Ceiling lights and pendants: check the drop, not just the diameter
For anything overhead, the width tells you how it will look; the drop tells you whether it will fit. Each product page has a dimensions drawing showing the total hanging height. Two rules that rarely fail:
- Over a dining table, the bottom of a pendant should be 70 to 80 cm above the table top.
- In a walk-through space (hallway, landing, kitchen), keep at least 200 cm of clearance below the fitting. If your ceiling is 240 cm, that means a flush ceiling light, not a pendant.
The 25 cm pendant suits a table seating four, or a pair over a longer table. The 40 cm pendant is a single centrepiece for a table seating six or more. More detail in choosing a Tiffany pendant for your dining table.
25 CM PENDANT
40 CM PENDANT
A quick way to check before you buy
Cut a circle of newspaper to the shade width, 25 cm or 41 cm, and put it where the lamp will go. Stand back and look at it from the doorway and from the sofa. If it looks lost, go up a size. If it looks like it owns the room, that is usually the right one; stained glass is meant to be looked at.
Two sizes of the same design can share a room. A 40 cm table lamp on the sideboard and a 25 cm version on the side table gives you a matched pair without the symmetry of two identical lamps. Every core design is available in both sizes.
