How to Measure to Get the Right Lamp Shade
A lamp can be a great decorative addition to your room. You might choose to decorate an entire room based on your favorite lamp, or you might need to find a lamp that will match an existing room's decor. However, one problem that you may encounter is having to match the base of a lamp with the right lampshade. In this case, you'll need to do some measuring, starting with the measurements for the lampshade. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Place your tape measure on the top of the lampshade in the center. You should measure from one side to the other in inches to get the measurement for the top of the lampshade.
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Repeat this process on the bottom of the lampshade to get the bottom measurement in inches. Most lampshades for table lamps will have a bottom measurement of sixteen inches or less. Floor lamps will be more like eighteen inches or larger.
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Put your tape measure at the bottom of the lampshade to measure the slant height in inches. Note that this is not the height of the lampshade. You want to make sure you're measuring in a straight line from top to bottom right where the lamp shade slants inward.
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Use these measurements to find the right base for your lampshade. Generally speaking, the total slant height of the shade should be about three-fourths the total height of the base you pair it with. The bottom measurement of the lampshade should be wider than the base at its widest point. Also, the measurement of the base from the bottom up to the socket should be about the same as your measurement for the bottom of the lampshade.
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References
- Photo Credit lamp image by Dmitry Veryovkin from Fotolia.com
