What Size Of Lamp Shade Do I Need?

Lampshades come in different sizes, colors, and styles. Now with these varieties and options to choose from, how will you know what size lamp shade do I need that will fit your lamp?

Get The Right Shade For Your Lamp

What you need to do first when you want to get the right lampshade is to check your lamp shape. Round lampshade works best on a lamp with a circular base. At the same time, the square or angular form looks better with square shade as well. This is a general rule; however, it is not followed all the time because there is also some exception when it comes to decorating rules. Exceptions, just like if you are using a square lamp and put it in a circular table, a round shape will work best to complement both.

Take The Right Shade Size

Now that we've determined what lampshade shape you should use based on your general lamp shape, let's learn how to measure what size lampshade you need.

1. In selecting the shade's bottom diameter, the best technique is to get the lamp height starting from the bottom of the table lamp base to the top of the stem, which is just below the socket cap. Get a shade for your lamp with a bottom diameter within 2 inches, plus or minus, the height of your lamp.
   
2. The shade's overall height is linked to the height of the lamp harp. The general rule of thumb is that the height of the shade should not go beyond the harp's height plus half an inch. It should not also be small that the harp's height minus half an inch.

Other Things To Consider

Here are other things you need to consider when getting a shade for the lamp.

• If you are getting a shade for a lamp with more than one sockets. Some lamps don't have a harp but have clusters. If your lamp has clusters, getting the accurate height of the shade would still be the same as the one with a harp. The height should not exceed the cluster stem height plus half an inch and should also not be smaller minus half an inch. Make sure not to allow a bulb to touch or within one inch of the shade material. Specific shapes, like the bell, tend to be too close to the bulbs in a cluster.
  
• If you are getting a lampshade for floor lamps with IES glass, harps, or cluster sockets. The base diameter of the floor lamp's shade is connected to the diameter of the lamp base. Get the size by measuring the bottom diameter of the floor lamp base.
  
• If you are getting a shade for floor lamps with UNO sockets and bridge arms. Floor lamps with UNO sockets should have shades with UNO fitters. For the perfect fit, the shade's shapes should be the same as the shape of the lamp's base.

Conclusion

Don't use estimates when choosing what size lamp shade, you should get. Take the correct measurement for a proper shade fitting.