How to size lampshades for Floor Lamps
Before the ‘rules’ it’s important to bear in mind there is no such thing as the wrong shade. If you love it – it’s the right shade. Experimenting with lamp shades in new fabrics, shapes and colours is great way to instantly update your home’s style.
Floor or standard lamps are more difficult to size as they tend to be tall and narrow and it is important to make sure the shade sits at the correct height. Generally, they require a much larger shade than table lamps, typically around 30cm to 50cm in diameter.
Most floor lamps suit shades sized between 40 and 50cm. If your standard lamp is a bit smaller (as in our Nayland Adjustable Reading Lamp) anything between 30 and 40cm may fit better. Note how the clean lines of these cylinder shades accentuate the sleek modern design of our range of Adler Standard Lamps
(pictured right).
As a rule of thumb, the shade should be about quarter the height of your floor lamp. To determine this, measure the height of the lamp base from the floor to the bottom of the bulb holder, then divide by four to get the approximate height for the shade.
Trust your eye. The perfect shade should hide the fittings underneath without encroaching on the lamp base. We say that the bottom of the shade should just cover the lamp holder when looking at it at eye level.
