Hey, Love Them Shades

Changing shades--as in lampshades, not sunglasses--can add style to a home or apartment. It’s an often overlooked way to add a trendy fashion statement or sophisticated look. Lampshades come in all shapes, sizes and materials--faux leopard, nubby chenille, silk roses, the translucent stone mica, beads and feathers.

“People wouldn’t have gone near shades like that 10 years ago, but they’re getting more adventuresome,” said Ashton Harrison, owner of Shades-of-Light, a national lighting catalog-based in Richmond, Va.

“Lamps do for rooms what throw pillows do for sofas,” said Betty Gostin, interior designer and co-owner of Lamps Factory Outlet in Huntington Beach, home to 7,000 shades. They are accessories that say a lot about their owners--classic, modern, daring or earthy.

But many shoppers find the selection process too complicated and choose safe over sorry. They’d rather stay wed to that outdated drum shade from the ‘60s than risk a mushroom-pleated bell square lest they be judged taste-impaired.

“People come in wanting something new and leave with a shade exactly like the one they have that’s worn out,” Gostin said. “They think only one look is right for their lamp, when most lamps can look good with several different shades.”

“I hate to see people miss the opportunity to give their lamps a great new look,” Harrison said. The right shade can revitalize an old base. A new shade can dress a lamp up or down, make it look bigger or smaller, change it from traditional to contemporary, and add drama, flair, elegance, whimsy or the right touch of restraint.

The hottest, newest look Harrison sees coming is shades with upholstery touches. These include beaded and tassle fringes, the kind you would see on decorative pillows. Also slipcovered shades are becoming popular for customers who want to give a shabby-chic look in their shades.

Although picking a shade is more art than science, even novices can make a confident choice after mastering the basics: style, color, fabric and proportion.

Shape

Empire, bell, drum, cone, square, oval, yikes! “Probably nothing says more about the style of the shade than its shape,” said Harrison, adding that square bells are hot right now, and the drum is definitely out--unless you’re into retro.

A shade’s shape should follow the contour of the lamp. If the base has graceful curves, go with a curved shade. If the base is straight or geometric, keep the shade’s edges straight, even if they’re angled. Cone-shaped shades work better on bottom-heavy lamps. Square lamps take square shades, round take round. A lamp that incorporates a round body on a square base can take a square shade nicely, or a modified square. Thin, pole-shaped bases can take almost any shape shade, while lamps with two or more sockets or asymmetrical figurines often need graceful crowning with horizontal or oval shades.

“Just changing the shape of a shade can make a traditional lamp contemporary, a casual lamp formal or a formal lamp casual,” Harrison says. The detailing on the silhouette also makes a statement: Fluted shades say fancy, pleats say casual; tailored shades say elegant, while shades with scalloped edges mostly belong to bedrooms.

Color

The great majority of the shades you see in lamp stores are white or off-white for good reason: They let light through and thus are the most functional.

“But a black shade can look gorgeous,” Gostin said. “You put it on some bases, and suddenly you have excitement, glamour, like you’re in a New York penthouse.”

Black or colored shades direct light down and offer more drama, explained Harrison, which can make other lighting statements in the room--say spotlights on artwork--more effective. White shades, by contrast, light the entire room. Here are a few more color tips from the pros:

* Crystal bases look best with pure white shades.

* For polished brass bases, use white shades; for antique brass, use off-white.

* When selecting a shade for a porcelain or ceramic base, pick up the color in the background, whether white or cream (although a black or colored shade could be the perfect accent on a Ming base).

* Wood or iron can go with almost any color.

* Monochromatic looks can also be nice: gold shades on gold lamps, black on black, wood tones on wood.

* And, no, all lampshades in a room don’t have to be the same color, and they don’t have to match the walls.

Fabric

A shade’s fabric should go with the room it’s in as well as with the lamp it’s on. Silk shades go in formal rooms and linen in less formal rooms. Parchment and burlap look casual or rustic, so they work well in dens. When working to complement the lamp, bear in mind that textured burlap or linen complement crockery, while hand-sewn silk enhances fine porcelain, though there’s always room for crossover.

Many of today’s buyers seem to want parchment and silk, according to Harrison. “They want looks reminiscent of the Old World opera.” They also want more texture than ever before, which she finds exciting. Her sales are up for shades covered in toile, pheasant feathers, colored silks and tole (metal painted to look like fabric)..

Proportion

The best guide is your eye. Trust it, advised Gostin. The right shade just looks right. For those whose eye needs help, Harrison offered these proportion pointers:

* Set a lampshade beside its base. Ideally, the shade should be 2 to 3 inches shorter. For example, a 15-inch shade suits an 18-inch base.

* A shade is at the proper height when just half an inch of the neck--the part just below the socket--is showing. A socket’s underpinnings should never show.

* The bottom diameter of a shade should also be less than the height of the base. But with cone or bell-shaped shades, the diameter should equal the height of the base. (Neither of these rules applies to floor lamps).

If you’re careful, you can play with proportion to scale up an undersized lamp or scale down an oversized lamp, says Harrison, who often builds up small bases by adding pedestals or feet. The hardware--harps and risers--that anchors lampshades do for lamps what good foundation garments do for women: They give reduction and lift where needed, until proportions are pleasing.

Before you get too adventuresome, however, remember this rule from the pros: When the base is the focal point, keep the shade plain. But when the base is plain, the shade can be the focus. A simple shade may be the right touch of restraint, but a fun shade could add just the right spike to a room.

But if you’re still not ready for the feather or faux-fur look in a shade, why not go wild more safely with the finial? That’s the little gadget that screws the shade onto the lamp and looks like a hood ornament. From steeple towers to bronze pineapples to wine corks to Chinese characters of good fortune, finials can be as conservative or outlandish as their owners. Find one that flips your switch.