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Follow these tips for picking the perfect shade for your lamp.Anyone who has ever gone shopping for a lampshade can tell you that choosing a shade can be surprisingly difficult. There are seemingly endless variations of colors, size and style, not to mention the various pieces of hardware you can adjust to hold the shade. Some websites will give you complicated equations for measuring base height to shade height, but there isn't really a magic formula to determine the size and shape of your shade. In the end, it's really a matter of taste. Here are some tips and tricks to get the right shade for your lamp:
These lamps from Shade of Lights show some of the common shade choices available. Photo: Shades of Light
Find a specialty store. Shopping for lampshades in a store like Target or Bed Bath & Beyond severely limits your options. Instead seek out a shop that specializes in lamps and shades where you'll have more choices and an expert on-hand to give you advice.
Bring your lamp to the store. Shopping for shades is like looking for a new outfit, you want to try it on to see how it fits. Bringing the old shade isn't a good substitute for the lamp itself.
Pair like with like. "Repeat the shape in the lamp body in the shade shape," suggests Harrison, president of Shades of Light. "Square lamps look best with square shades and round lamps look best with round shades, likewise a shapely lamp can take a shapely shade."
Use the current harp as your guide. When determining shade height, you can use the lamp's existing harp as a guide (the harp is the wire frame that holds the shade onto the lamp base). The shade should be at least as high as the harp. However, you can also change the harp size to accommodate a larger (or smaller) shade to suit your tastes.
Make sure the harp fits. If you change the shade, there's a good chance you'll have to change the harp, especially with flared shades. "The more flared the shade, the shorter the harp you need," notes Harrison.
Fine-tune the height. If your current harp is a close fit, but not exact, add an extender, which is called a shade riser. The extender will raise the height that the shade sits on.
Spitzmiller's classic designs are topped with simple, tapered drum shades and not one spec of hardware shows beneath them. Photos: Christopher Spitzmiller
Tapered drums are fresh. "Regarding style, I'm happier to see boxier shades being used more," says lamp designer Christopher Spitzmiller of the trend towards tapered drum shade (like the two shown on Spitzmiller's lamps above). "They look really modern now, and they're a really great timeless shape."
Have fun with simple bases. "The more basic the shape of the body of the lamp, the more varied styles of shades it can take," says Harrison.
Keep things in proportion. According to Harrison, the height of a shade should be approximately 2/3 to 4/5 the height of the lamp's base, and the diameter shouldn't exceed the height of the base and should be within two inches of this dimension.
Go with your gut. When it comes to the exact size and style, it's your own tastes that count. For example, while you might prefer a bell-shaped shade, your sister might like a wider straight-sided drum shade -- neither style is "right" or "wrong." "It's a matter of personal preference, there's no real answer," says Spitzmiller, "Trust your instincts on proportion or size."
Mottega's Sophia lamp base can coordinate with a variety of shade styles. Photos: Mottega
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