Collections · By finish

Chrome and Nickel Table Lamps at KES

77 table lamps in polished chrome and nickel, the cool metal that keeps a room crisp.

Eichholtz Emerald Table Lamp in Nickel Finish with Black Shade, lit, in a styled room. Editorial image for the Chrome and Nickel Table Lamps collection.

Cool metal on a side table

Chrome and nickel are not the same thing. Chrome is bright and blue-white. Nickel, polished or antique, is softer and a touch warmer, and the one that sits more easily with dark timber. The Feiss State Room and the Eichholtz Emerald are nickel. The Endon Highclere and the Diyas Alexandra are chrome.

77 table lamps, from £27.

What we'd tell you in the showroom

A table lamp is bought for the shade as much as the base. A dark shade like the Emerald's throws light down onto the table and keeps the room moody. A white or linen shade lights the wall behind it and lifts the room. Decide which job you want done.

Height matters more than people think. On a side table beside a sofa, the bottom of the shade should sit at about shoulder height when you are seated, so a 60 to 70cm lamp on a 55cm table is about right.

Anne McKenna, senior sales

Chrome and Nickel Table Lamps Recommendations & Buying Advice

No, they are different finishes, and the difference shows side by side. Chrome looks cooler and bluer, while nickel looks warmer and softer. The Endon Highclere 3 light table lamp lets you compare them on one design: it comes in brushed chrome with a natural linen shade or in bright nickel plate with a charcoal shade. We would choose whichever sits closest to the metal already in the room.

We would choose by the room's existing finishes rather than predict which will stay fashionable. Polished chrome looks sharp beside glass, white and grey, while brushed, matt and antique nickel sit more easily with warm woods, linen and other warm metals. For a softer, older look, the Feiss State Room comes in antique nickel; for a quieter modern scheme, try the Astro Ascoli in matt nickel.

One in proportion to the table and the job it does, so measure before you choose. By a bed, you want light on a page without glare, which suits a lamp with an adjustable shade such as the Astro Imari, 522mm tall, whose shade tilts and rotates. A sideboard or console in a living room can take far more height, such as the Eichholtz Regine at 915mm. Check each lamp's height and shade width against your table.

In our view, proportion and materials matter most: a shade in scale with the base and a finish that suits the room. The Elstead Aegeus sets polished nickel into a white marble base, and the Quintiesse Milne pairs polished nickel with a blown glass base and a four-way switch that lights the shade, the base or both. We prefer a warm white bulb; our guide to warm and cool white explains the difference.

Usually not, so check the listing, which names the cap each lamp takes. E27 is the most common here, with E14 on lamps such as the Endon Highclere. A few include part of the lighting: the Quintiesse Samara supplies the 7W LED GU10 for its lit glass base, but not the E27 bulb for its shade. Check whether a shade is included too. Browse our E27 bulbs.

When it has to go outside, within the zones around a bath or shower, or onto a table with no socket nearby. Every lamp here with a listed IP rating is IP20, which offers no protection against water, so keep them in dry rooms. For a table without a socket, a cordless lamp is the better answer; the Novena Asta, for one, comes in matt chrome. See our rechargeable table lamps.

Switch it off, unplug it and let it cool, then dust the metal with a soft, dry cloth and follow the maker's care instructions. Avoid scourers, abrasive cleaners and harsh chemicals on the finish. Shades here range from natural linen on the Endon Highclere to faux silk on Quintiesse lamps such as the Sola, so clean or wash a shade only in the way its maker allows; a soft brush keeps the dust off.