Lewis Lamp Table: 55cm tall, four legs, marble or ceramic

Almost every table on this shelf prints three numbers and leaves you to work out which is which. The Lewis Lamp Table does not: the listing says it stands at 55cm, alongside the size line of 50 x 50 x 55cm. That one stated figure makes it the easiest table in the range to plan around, and it is a useful key to the others too.

Why a stated height matters

Side tables get bought to a height more often than to a width. You are matching the top to a sofa arm, to the height of a bed if it is going into a bedroom, or to the point where a lamp switch falls under your hand without reaching. Knowing the height is 55cm rather than guessing it means you can measure your arm top before you order and know the answer.

At 55cm the top sits above the seat cushion on most sofas and roughly level with a standard arm. That is right for reading: the lamp shade clears the eyeline of someone sitting upright instead of glaring at them. Beside a low modern sofa with a thin arm it is on the tall side, and the table will read as the taller of the two objects.

Four tapered legs instead of a pedestal

The listing describes four tapered legs on a chrome frame. Compared with the pedestal tables alongside it, four legs give you a wider, more settled stance for a lamp with a weighty base, and nothing in the middle of the floor, so the table can straddle the foot of a sofa. The trade is that four separate feet have to find four flat points: on an uneven floorboard or over the bound edge of a rug, one of them can sit proud. Decide whether the table is on the rug or off it and set it accordingly.

The listing also calls the leg shape Italian in style. Read that as a description of the look, because the page does not state where the table is produced and we are not going to supply that detail ourselves.

Marble or ceramic, and how to ask for it

The top comes two ways: marble, described in the listing for its veining, or ceramic for a plain finish. The product page has no drop-down to pick between them, so say which top you want when you place the order and get it confirmed. The listing does not record the weight of either, nor how the marble should be sealed or cleaned, so ask if the table has to go upstairs or will be near a radiator.

The quick comparison

So the choice between the Chelsea Lamp Table and this one is a base and a top shape rather than a size, and the SG-Lewis Lamp Table is the nearest thing to a second version of the same idea. The full shelf is in Side & Lamp Tables.

Before you order

Measure your sofa arm, check the floor where the four feet will land, and name the top you want. This is a piece the shop supplies, so ask for current timings at the point of order. Delivery is free within 50 miles of our Glasgow store and £50 beyond. The Lewis Lamp Table page carries a long set of photographs, which is where to look closely at the leg shape and the frame.