How To Choose Floor Lamp Shades

The height of the lampshade should be 2 3 the height of the lamp base.

How to choose floor lamp shades.

Retro styles often play with scale by varying the shade size. But of course not always. There are three main rules that you need to know when it comes to measuring your lamp shade. A lampshade should be roughly two fifths of the total height of the full lamp including the shade.

The lampshade width at its widest point should be two times the width of the base. Your lamp shade should be about double the base of the lamp and around one third the total height of the lamp. Generally the height of the shade should be about 3 4 the height of the base. Generally the rule of thumb is the lamp shade height should measure 1 3 the height of the base.

Round shades go with round bases square shades go with square bases. A shade s shape should follow the contour of the lamp. Maybe you want warm ambient lighting which an array of shaded floor lamps can provide. But there s always an exception.

Look to the three key layers of light to decide. How do you determine the right size shade for your lamp. Perhaps most importantly you should pick a floor lamp based on what type of lighting the room needs. For example a bulb that casts yellow light through a translucent white lampshade will give the shade a yellow tint.

Lastly the lampshade must be wider than the widest part of the lamp base. An oft overlooked aspect of choosing a lamp shade is safety. The bottom of the shade should just cover the lamp switch so be sure to measure the harp before buying. For example if the lamp base is 24 inches tall the shade s height should measure 8 inches.

Choose your layer of floor light. To determine what lampshade size you need for your floor lamp measure the height of the lamp base from the bottom to the top of the bulb rod then divide by four to get an approximate height for the shade. Height table lamp shades should be approximately the height of the base. So i poked around the internet to do a bit of research on what size your lamp shade should actually be and here s the general consensus.

Floor lamp shades are at least 18 in diameter or larger. Ambient task and accent. You can try using different sized harps while shopping. If you have a round base on a narrow table that s in a hallway you might choose a square or rectangle shade so that it sits flat against the wall and doesn t stick out into traffic.

If you choose a lampshade with this construction the color of your lightbulb will matter. A translucent lampshade made from white or otherwise thin fabric offers more light and diffuses that light around a room.