6 Questions To Ask When Choosing A Lampshade

6 Questions To Ask When Choosing A Lampshade

By Alise Talley

6 Questions To Ask When Choosing A Lampshade

As any interior designer would know, a beautifully decorated room is only as good as its lighting. With the wrong lighting, colors appear different than intended and the mood of the room can feel off. That’s why lamps are a practical, and sometimes essential, part to completing a room and giving it the atmosphere you intended. 

Lamps themselves can be a great long-term investment, as the shades and bulbs can be changed as time goes on. But, choosing the right lampshade to put on that lamp can be just as important.

Here are 6 important questions you should ask yourself for choosing the perfect lampshade.

1. What’s the purpose?

Lamps can serve different purposes. They can be used for something as simple as providing light in a room with limited lighting, or they could tie the room’s decor together. 

Are you setting the mood or trying to add a pop of color?

Determining the purpose of the lamp will tell you the kind of lampshade you need to best serve that purpose. 

2. How much light do you need?

Who needs to use this lamp? Is it a personal lamp on your nightstand, or does it need to illuminate the entire room?

If you need more light in a room, you should look for lampshades with broad brims that allow more light to shine through. If you only need limited light, the brim can be narrower.

3. Where will the lamp be?

Is the lamp going to be on a table or somewhere up high? 

Wherever it will be, it’s best that the lampshade covers the inside of the lamp, as the bulb shouldn’t be seen. 

Therefore, lamps that are lower than eye level can have smaller shades, but lamps that are above eye level should have longer shades.

4. How big should the shade be compared to the lamp?

The proportion of the lampshade to the lamp itself is important to keep in mind. Having a lampshade that’s too big can seem out of place and clunky. 

While you can use your judgement for this, there is a proportion formula for my perfectionists out there. For table lamps, the height of the shade should be 2/3 of the height of the base, and the width of the shade should be 1 inch wider than the base’s widest measurement.

For longer lamps, you can be more flexible.

5. What shape should it be?

Lampshades come in many different shapes. 

If you can’t decide what shape you like best, you can always look at the base of the lamp. If the base of the lamp is square, then a square shape will complement it well. 

But, you should really consider which would go best with the room as a whole. 

6. What materials should be used?

The material of the lampshade, or the shade’s “surface”, depends on the atmosphere you want to create with the lamp. 

If you want something brighter, you should have a more translucent shade with a light color that allows for more light. But, if you want a dimmer, more romantic feel, try using a shade with a thicker surface and darker color.

These are a few questions you should consider when looking for your ideal lampshade. 

Now that you know what you’re looking for, check out Slightly East’s collection of high-quality lampshades. And have fun finding the style that’s right for you!