How to Get the Correct Lampshade for Your Lamp

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By Kerry Fletcher ASID
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Get the Correct Lampshade for Your Lamp

Many lamps today come with the lamp base sold separately from the lampshade. This is very convenient for creating a lamp that is perfectly suited to your room. This article will tell how to find the correct sized lampshade for your lamp base.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Most lampshades come with measurements. The first measurement needed will be the diameter across the top of the lampshade. The second measurement needed will be the diameter across the bottom of the lampshade. The third measurement needed will be the measurement down the size of the lampshade, which will usually be a diagonal measurement from the edge of the upper circle to the edge of the bottom circle.
Step 2

There are 2 main types of mechanisms for attaching the lampshade to the lamp. Your lamp will only accept one type of mechanism, so make sure you get the correct one. You can have a harp, which attaches to the left and right of the base of the light bulb and goes up and eventually combine on top of the bulb where the lampshade attaches with a finial (decorative screw on top of the lampshade). This type is called a washer fit. The second option for a lampshade is a clip lampshade. These are mainly for smaller lamps where the lampshade clips around the light bulb.
Step 3

The lampshade for a table lamp should be approximately 40% of the overall height of the lamp. If the lamp is 20" tall, the lampshade should be approximately 8" tall. Another way to calculate the size is that the widest part of the lampshade should be 8" larger than the largest part of the lamp base.

Comments

midcenturymaven said

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on 7/17/2009 Nice article on selecting the right lampshade. To answer shprice's question, no you cannot cut off the harp. However, harps themselves come in different heights and the fittings are pretty standard. Try a harp one size shorter than the one you have now and see if that solves the problem.

shprice said

on 12/30/2008 Very helpful. Could you please add guidelines on where the lampshade is supposed to hit the body of the lamp? I've had lamps made and the shade always looks too far from the base to me. (Maybe I'm shorter than the lamp repairer!) Can I cut off the harp? or is that dangerous.