Isla Table Lamp - White Ceramic, Beetroot Red Shade, Polished Nickel Elstead

Isla is a table lamp from Elstead Lighting's own range, with a ceramic base shaped like a double gourd — two rounded forms stacked one on the other and finished in a glossy white glaze. It carries a tapered drum shade in Beetroot Red faux silk, while the foot, the collar under the shade and the finial are polished nickel.

Size and placement

The lamp is 64 cm tall and the shade is 36 cm across — compare that with the depth of the sideboard, console or side table it will stand on, so the shade does not overhang the edge. It weighs 5.1 kg, which makes it far steadier than a light lamp if the cable gets a tug.

It runs from a plug, so there is nothing to install beyond a socket within reach of the cable, and it is switched on and off with an inline switch on the cable. It is a Class I fitting, so the plug has an earth pin and needs an earthed socket.

Bulb and light

There is one E27 lampholder for a bulb of up to 60 W, and no bulb is included. The maker recommends a clear E27 A60 LED of 8 W giving 800 lm at 3000 K — the brightness of an old 60 W bulb in warm white.

The lamp has no dimmer of its own. The maker describes it as compatible with dimmable smart bulbs, so brightness is controlled by the bulb itself, from an app or a remote. The shade is open at top and bottom, so light falls down onto the surface and up onto the wall, and the red fabric gives the light passing through it a warm tint.

Construction and variants

The base is ceramic, the metal parts are steel and the shade is laminated faux silk. The classic shape of a ceramic vase under a drum shade suits an office. The Isla range also offers shades in Liberty Blue, Mallard Teal and Celadine Yellow, and versions with aged brass metalwork.