How To Know What Size Lampshade To Buy

Here are our guidelines for how to measure a lamp for a shade.

How to know what size lampshade to buy. Be sure of the fitting you need. Measure lamp for shade size. Lampshade size is usually expressed in terms of its diameter 16 shade has a diameter of 16. The bottom edge of the lampshade should fall midway on the neck of the lamp.

In most cases your lamp shade should be roughly 2 3 the height of the lamp body. Make sure the lamp shade is wider than the widest part of your lamp body. You don t want the socket or the switch to be visible. Similarly many design experts suggest that shade s width be roughly equivalent to the visible height of the lamp base.

Choosing your lampshade s diameter width your lampshade should be at least 2x wider than the widest part of the base. If your lampshade is tapered the bottom of the shade follows this criteria. Video by beau sam. Floor lamp shades should clear the widest part of the bulb by at least 3 5 on each side of the bulb unless using compact fluorescent bulb.

So now that you know your lamp base shape it s time to grab a tape measure. If you ever come home from the antique market with a new lamp base sans lampshade take heed of this golden rule before rushing out to grab any old covering. The best shade will mimic the base of the lamp and the shape of the table. Calculate this by measuring the widest part of your lamp base and multiplying it by two.