Spent £800 on decor and still flat: will a £20 Dunelm lamp change your room in 10 minutes?

A small shift in lighting can reset your space, your mood, and your evenings. The surprise is how little it costs.

Across Britain, households are turning to a £20 table lamp from Dunelm to warm up dull corners and calm busy rooms. The Kunal Glass Table Lamp promises a soft, evening-friendly glow, a neat size, and a price that lands well below a weekly shop.

Why this £20 buy is landing in so many lounges

The Kunal Glass Table Lamp sits in an easy sweet spot: compact, good-looking, and unfussy. It arrives assembled, so there’s no late-night hunt for a screwdriver. A clear glass base keeps it light on the eye. A linen shade mutes glare. The form suits a sideboard, a console, or a small table at the end of a sofa.

Dimensions matter in tight spaces. At 34 cm tall and 20 cm wide, it reads as substantial without blocking sightlines across the room. An inline switch keeps control at hand, and the two‑metre cable stretches comfortably to a socket behind furniture. It accepts an E14 candle bulb, which gives you choice over brightness and tone.

Price: £20. Height: 34 cm. Width: 20 cm. Cable: two metres. Fitting: E14 candle. Shade: linen. Base: recycled glass.

Materials and finish that feel considered

The shade texture softens the light in the evening, helping faces look natural on video calls and films feel less harsh. The glass base, made from recycled material, cuts visual weight, so the lamp adds atmosphere without crowding the eye. It comes in Smoke or Bottle Green, both easy to pair with wood, boucle, and the neutral paints many of us already have on the walls.

Light quality and the bulb question

This lamp is not dimmable, so the bulb does the heavy lifting. Choose a warm white LED for living areas. Aim for 2700K on the colour temperature scale and roughly 400–470 lumens for background light. If you read near it, step up the lumens slightly or place a second lamp to layer light rather than cranking one bright point.

Energy costs at today’s prices

With an LED candle bulb, running costs sit low. Using 3 hours per night and a unit price of 24p/kWh as a guide, here’s what that looks like:

Pick the bulb, pick the mood. A 2700K LED around 470 lumens gives evening warmth without washing out colour.

Set-up that takes minutes

Unbox, place, screw in the E14 bulb, switch on. The two‑metre cord means you usually avoid extension leads. The inline switch sits within easy reach on a side table. No dimmer avoids compatibility issues with LEDs and keeps things simple for guests and children.

Where it works best

• Sideboard in the lounge: pairs well with a mirror to bounce light and stretch the room visually.
• Bedside: one lamp per side for symmetry; choose a lower‑lumen bulb to keep eyes relaxed before sleep.
• Hall console: a welcoming pool of light that helps keys, post, and school letters land in one spot.
• Reading corner: combine with a floor lamp behind the chair to avoid shadows on the page.

Colour choices that play nicely with British homes

Smoke suits cool greys, pale oak, and black accents. Bottle Green lifts beige schemes and walnut furniture. Both tones sit comfortably with sage paint and stone-coloured upholstery, which many households adopted over the last two years. A pair on a long sideboard can balance a TV or a large artwork without shouting for attention.

Layering that changes the whole room

One table lamp softens the scene. Two or three lamps in different corners change the architecture of light. Use this lamp as a warm layer, then add a floor lamp with an upward throw to brighten ceiling edges, and a task light near seating. The room feels richer and calmer than with a single bright overhead fitting.

Practical checks before you buy

• Measure your surface: 20 cm width needs a stable base; leave 5 cm each side to avoid knocks.
• Plan the cable route: two metres helps, but tape or clip the last 30 cm to stop snags.
• Choose the bulb up front: E14, warm white, dimming not required; check packaging for lumens, not just watts.
• Mind fingerprints: glass shows smudges; a microfibre cloth keeps the base clear in seconds.
• Think in pairs: two lamps on either side of a sofa or sideboard bring balance and reduce hard shadows.

Small details that make living with it easier

The linen shade diffuses enough to soften LED pin‑prick glare. On movie night, skin tones hold warmth rather than steering blue. For late‑evening tidying, the spread is gentle and wide, so you see the floor without feeling you are under office lights. The lamp’s height clears most picture frames and doesn’t block the bottom of the TV when placed on a low cabinet.

A quick win for renters: no drilling, no marks, and a real shift in how a room feels after dark.

Safety and care that keep the look fresh

Stick to LED bulbs that run cool. Keep the lamp away from the very edge of a table if children or pets rush past. Use self‑adhesive cable clips to guide the cord along the back of furniture and down to the socket. Dust the shade with a lint roller and refresh the fabric with a soft brush attachment on a hoover once a month. Avoid glass cleaners with ammonia on the base; a damp cloth followed by a dry polish is enough.

If you want the same feel on other budgets

Two of these lamps can flank a sofa for £40, which often looks more considered than a single, pricier statement piece. If you need a dimmable set‑up for a snug, look for an E14 bulb marked “dimmable” and pair it with a plug‑in dimmer module rather than a wall change in a rental. Alternatively, a smart E14 bulb lets you soften brightness and shift from 2200K to 2700K without touching a switch.

Why this small change resonates now

Homes are working hard: screens, homework, late suppers, early starts. A compact lamp that costs £20 and runs for about £1–£1.50 a year gives back a slice of calm with minimal effort. The recycled glass base nods to better material choices, and the warm pool of light rebuilds atmosphere in rooms that feel flat under ceiling spots. If you’ve already spent on a sofa or paint but the space still lacks warmth, this is the low‑risk adjustment that earns its keep from the first evening.