Lamp Shade

Just about every home in the country has several lamps but sometimes, the lamp shade needs a little assistance. Obviously, lamps are used to illuminate rooms for a number of reasons such as primary lighting, to enhance existing lighting, or even to create ambience. With literally thousands of lamp styles, sizes, colors, and designs from which to choose, no lamp is complete without the right lamp shade. Unfortunately, most people are unaware of the way to choose the best lamp shade to make the lamp look as good as it can.

For starters, after you have chosen your new lamp, you want to give just as much attention to the shade. In fact, adding the right lamp shade can turn an old, unattractive lamp into something exquisite. However, putting the wrong lamp shade on a beautiful lamp can make it look awkward and just downright unattractive. Therefore, we have pulled some helpful tips together so you can choose the right lamp shade for your home.

For starters, you want your lamp shade to be about two-thirds the height of the lamp’s base. The benefit here is that the lamp will look well-proportioned. In addition, make sure the lamp shade does not allow any of the hardware underneath to show to include the metal neck of the lamp. As far as width, the widest portion of the lamp shade should be a minimum of one-half inch wider on each side than the widest point of the lamp’s base. However, you also want to consider the location where the lamp will be placed in that if the shade were too big, it could become obtrusive.

Next, think about the shape of the lamp shade. In this case, the lamp itself would pay an important role in your decision. For instance, if the lamps are candlestick style, tall and lean, then you could go with literally any shape of shade.  However, if the base of your lamp is round, the shade should also be round or if the shape of the base were square, go with a square shade.

Next on the list of considerations for a new lamp shade is the translucency level. In this case, if the lamp were on your nightstand and only being used for accent lighting, an opaque shade would work best by not overly illuminating the room. However, if your lamp is used for reading, or even to help add romantic ambience to the bedroom, a translucent shade might be the better choice.

You will also find that some lamp shades have pleating while others do not. Typically, a lamp shade with pleats works best in a country or traditional home while the lamp shade without pleats works best with a contemporary or Mediterranean style home. To find the exact look you want, you may need to try various options but these guidelines should help get you started.