Lamp Shade 101

Featured Pro: Kelly Edwards
Category: Home Décor
Time: 1:56


KELLY EDWARDS: Hi. I’m Kelly Edwards, and this is my GMC Trade Secret.

When it comes to choosing lamp shades, your options are nearly endless. So I’m going to teach you a few secrets that’ll help you design your lighting like a pro. Come on.

Lighting is my number one thing in design, because you can have the most well-designed space, but if your lighting’s off, your whole entire space will look off. And equally as important is how your shades match your lamp bases, because mismatched shades and lamp bases can actually throw the room off of balance.

So I have here three different lamps, three different styles. The first one is a scalloped shade here, which is also called a Victorian shade, kind of like a corset, because it’s smaller at the top and it flares out into the bottom. And it’s paired with this chunky lamp that looks gorgeous in an element space.

This one here is a barrel shade, which, like the name, it’s perfectly round, and then attached to the ceramic base is perfect as a table lamp. And this one here is a bell shade, which is attached to the light bulb. And then paired with this little lamp underneath, it’s perfect for task lighting.

Now, sheer shades are made of paper, and they’re great for reading or ambient lighting, because they’re so light.

Now, on the opposite, let’s go dark here. Now, a lot of people steer away from dark shades, but dark shades are awesome because they're great for tying in dark furniture and really creating that drama in a room.

Now, a lot of people ask, how do I know what shade that goes with the base? Well, we say it’s all about scale. Now, the shade should be three fourths as big as the lamp base, both in height and width. And the fun thing about shades is that you can embellish them with just about anything, so ribbons, studs, stencils, appliques. But in my case, I actually picked up these skeleton leaves, which are kind of translucent. So when you put them on the front of the shade, the light just shines through. And that looks absolutely fabulous.

I’m Kelly Edwards, and that’s my GMC Trade Secret.