Drum Lamp Shades – How to Select the Best

Some great choices for today’s contemporary eclectic home lighting are drum lamp shades in retro and modern prints. Or, for a more traditional look go for solid-color dupioni silks with their interesting slubs and textures. Here’s how we suggest you go about your selection.

1. 1. COLOR

   First of all, pick a proper color to go with your lamp base.  You can find a wide variety of colors on our website Seascapelamps.com.

   
   

   
   

2. 2. SHAPE

   Choose a suitable shape. We have empires, ovals, rectangular and square shades in addition to our drum shades. With drum lamp shades being the trend now, they add a modern contemporary look to your home interior. Drum shades are a great and versatile choice because they complement so many different types of bases that its hard to go wrong with this shape. Drum lamp shades have a have a wider diameter than their height; and the top and bottom are exactly the same width. Hard-backed drum shades are perfectly straight up and down with no curve to them. Cone or empire shades are tapered at either end, having a smaller diameter at the top or bottom.

   
   

3. 3. SIZE

   Size is the next consideration. We can assist you with picking the right size shade for your base if you give us a call. Let us know the shape, height, and color of your lamp base. If your shade is too wide or tall, it might look disproportionate to your base and even tip over if your base is light. A useful rule of thumb is that your shade should be wider than at least double the widest point of your lamp base. So if lamp base is 8”, for example, your shade might be 16” to 18” in diameter.  When ordering, think about how much light you want the shade to cast and pick a lighter or darker color depending on amount of light needed. Whether you want a soft light or a direct one, size and color should be considered for the best drum-shaped lampshade.

Another point to keep in mind is to see that the shade is the proper distance from the wall by calculating half of it’s diameter and adding a few inches so it won’t look too crowded. For example, if your shade is 16” wide, maybe place the lamp 10” away from the wall. And lastly, keep in mind that when ordering a shade, your existing harp may be too short or too tall and may need changing in order to keep the lamp in proper proportion. This is easily remedied by ordering a taller or shorter harp at minimal cost from either us or your local hardware or lighting center.

In the 50′s, drum shades were very popular and now decades later they have come back in vogue in a strong way. Drum lamp shades definitely have their advantages. They have the ability to direct lots of light from all directions as well as accept much higher bulb wattages because the larger diameter on the ends allow for heat to escape. They are our most popular lamp shade and are available in various designs and sizes on our website. Please make sure to call us 888-538-6514 if you have any questions determining the size, shape and color of your drum lamp shade.