The table lamp is the quickest project in the range: no drilling, no ceiling connection, and in half an hour it's standing on your bedside table. The build principle is the same as for the plug-in light, except the lamp holder sits on a base instead of hanging from the cable.
Choose the base
Lamp bases have a thread or mount for the lamp holder at the top – usually M10 (the standard lamp thread) – and a cable opening on the side or underneath. Wooden bases (beech, oak, walnut) feel warm and go well with cotton cables; concrete bases are heavy, don't tip over and suit metal lamp holders; metal bases in brass or copper are the counterpart to a metal lamp holder in the same colour. Weight matters: a large G125 globe bulb or a shade needs a base of at least 600 g, otherwise the lamp tips over when you dust it.
The lamp holder
For bases with an M10 thread, use a lamp holder with an M10 female thread (pre-filtered for table lamps in the configurator). For bases with a push-fit socket, the lamp holder and cable are inserted from above and fixed with a grub screw. Lamp holders with a switch are handy here: the toggle switch sits directly under the bulb, and the cable runs without interruption.
Cable and switches
The cable runs from the lamp holder through the base and exits at the bottom or side. With bases that have a side opening, the cable can run visibly across the tabletop as a colour accent; with an opening at the bottom, it lies under the base and disappears behind the furniture. The inline switch is best placed 30 to 50 cm from the base – close enough to grab in the dark, far enough that it doesn't lie on the tabletop. Typical cable length: 1.5 to 2 m to the socket.
Assembly
Feed the cable up through the base, connect the lamp holder (strain relief, strip the sheath, clamp), screw or push the lamp holder into the base, pull the cable taut underneath and fix it with the base's felt or clamp, then connect the inline switch and plug as with the plug-in light. Screw in the bulb, done.
Which light bulb
On the bedside table: 2200 to 2700 K, 200 to 400 lumens, dimmable if the switch allows. On the desk: 3000 to 4000 K and at least 600 lumens, with a shade against glare. Without a shade, bulbs with a visible filament and smoked or gold glass are the right choice: they don't glare because they have few lumens and a large surface.
In the configurator under “Table lamps” you'll find the builds with base, with extension (10 or 20 cm higher) and with Flex arm. All three can be built with any base, any lamp holder and any cable colour in the range.