different types of lamp shades

If you have lamps in your house chances are you have lamp shades. Lamp shades are some of the most overlooked fundamental things that a person has in their house. A world without these basic light covers would be one of very different sights, things would be brighter much brighter. Have you ever taken the lamp shade off of a lamp? Bright isn’t it. That’s the reason that they are there, to keep most of the direct light from entering our line of sight. There are many different styles of lamp shades out there today. For the most part there is two major categories of lamp shade. the first is glass. These types of shades are usually going to be more expensive and longer lasting. Also the the glass shades are usually going to be some of the more beautiful. The second category of shade is the fabric shade, this is the one that you will see more often than not on normal looking lamps such as office lamps.

Now onto the different types of lamp shapes, in each of the two categories there are many basic shapes that lamp shades come in. For the most part most lamp shades glass or fabric will come in either come in drum lamp shades or flared style shades. There are many variations within these two groups but for the most part these are the two main groups that there is.

Glass lamp shades are some of the craziest and at the same time coolest lamp shades that you will ever see. Glass lamp shades are usually formed in a factory by the masses. These are just usually your every day glass lamp shade that you would see at restaurant or banks, the price on these can range anywhere from a couple of dollars to around a hundred just depending on which kind of glass and how complex and intricately the lamp shade is put together.

On the other hand there is the handmade or blown glass lamp shade. This is where all of the artistic and beautiful qualities come about. These handmade glass shades can range anywhere from $50 to around $200 a piece in some cases. Some of the most beautiful pieces of art are actually blown glass lamp shades. Some of the popular themes of these kinds of lamp shades are the “flower power style”, Asian inspired, and Tiffany style.

These lamp shades were very prominent in the sixties and seventies. They many consist of glass lamp shades that are covered all over the place with “trippy” or psychedelic looking flowers and leaves or butterflies or other images. The color palate of these lamps is usually of colors that pop out at you such as brown and orange or blue and yellow or orange and white. These truly are American classics. You can for the most part find them around the price of $20 or so depending on where you look.

There are many different types of oriental inspired lamp shades probably the most common one that everyone is accustomed to is the paper ball with either Japanese or Chinese writing on it. This type of lamp or lantern goes for anywhere between $.06 to $250 per lantern, obviously the $250 ones being of much higher quality and very much larger. What most people do not know is that there are many other different types of Asia inspired lamp shades out there as well.Examples of these would be the Puggi lamp, and the Shoji lamp. Here are some examples.

Tiffany lamp shades are among some of the most distinguished in the world. Tiffany lamps and lampshades have a very distinctive history about them. These lovely lamps were first made by Louis Tiffany. The unique way that he made these lamps was by gathering up all of the discarded stained glass pieces from the factory and making them into lamps and lampshades. To this day you can still purchase these one of a kind masterpieces. They usual range for these lamps is anywhere from $200 to a couple thousand dollars, although two of them have been recorded to take $2 million dollars each at auction.

The next category of lamp shade is the fabric or other than glass lamp shade. Fabric lamp shades are some of the most common that you will see. They can be seen all around the world in all different types of cultures and religions. These lamp shades do not just have to be a “fabric” they can be made up of anything that is not glass. For example wicker lamp shades can be formed into any kind of lampshade shape that one can desire, and the same goes for leather lamp shades.

Wicker lamp shades are becoming more and more popular as the global trend turns more toward a green or eco-friendly side. Wicker is a plant material that is formed into strands and then woven onto a frame. For this reason it is very pliable and able to be bent into any shape desired.

Chandelier shades are another type of lamp shade that is in the for the most part in the fabric lamp shade category. A few minutes ago I had no idea what a chandelier shade was. Well thanks to my girlfriend I now know that chandelier lamp shades are the little lamp shades that cover the lights on a chandelier. There are many different types of chandelier shades available and for the most part they are going to be in a price range of around $9 to around $25 a piece. In some instances they can be in the price range of a couple hundred dollars a piece. Of course these are going to be the very large and or made of very fine materials.

These lamp shades give a very western, earthy or rustic look to your lamp and room. Leather lamp shades can be great assets to setting up the theme to a room that is lacking style. Also in this category are the rawhide lamp shades. These are a lot like their leather cousins but the difference is that the rawhide has not been exposed to the tanning process that leather has gone through. For this reason the rawhide is much like a tough almost clear parchment of wood or paper. This makes it a great lamp shade in that it can be stretched and shaped when wet into any form desired and once dried will remain this way until it is wet again. More times than not you will find leather and rawhide lamp shades the subject of Indian or Native American paintings. For this reason they make great accents to a western or rustic style room.