How to choose a lampshade when your room already has a personality.
Let's get one thing out of the way.
Your lampshade doesn't have to match.
There. I've said it.
It doesn't have to be the exact same shade of green as the cushions. It doesn't have to pick up the little bit of blue in the rug. And if you've already got floral wallpaper, you are absolutely allowed to have a floral lampshade too.
I know. Scandalous.
But somewhere along the way we've got very good at making everything go. And while there is nothing wrong with a beautifully coordinated room, I think homes are much more interesting when they look like someone actually lives there.
Your lampshade is a pretty good place to have a bit of fun. It can bring in a colour you've never used before. Add another pattern. Introduce something vintage. Be a little bit ridiculous, or, ideally, be so bloody lovely that you start wondering whether the room ought to be redecorated around it. (That's my dream for you, obviously).
I'm not suggesting you rip out the wallpaper because you've fallen in love with a lampshade. Although if you do, I'd quite like to see the before and after.
Start with how you want the room to feel
Before we get into colours and shapes and whether you need a 30cm or a 40cm or even bigger shade, think about the room itself. What do you actually want it to feel like? Cosy? Calm? Colourful? A bit dramatic? Cheerful? Grown-up? Slightly bonkers?
Because two lampshades in exactly the same colour can do completely different things depending on their shape, fabric and pattern. A crisp linen drum is going to behave very differently from a ruffled floral shade.
A bold print can wake up a room that's feeling a little flat. Something soft and gathered can make a room feel more romantic. And something completely unexpected can be just the thing that stops a room feeling like it came straight out of a showroom.
So rather than starting with:
"What lampshade matches my room?"
I'd start with:
"What does my room need?"
Sometimes the answer is something that blends in.
Sometimes it's absolutely not.
Colour: you don't have to match the sofa
Matching is easy, and sometimes easy is exactly what you want. If you've got a particular colour running through your room, picking it up in your lampshade can make everything feel nicely connected. You might take a colour from a painting, a cushion, the curtains or a rug and bring it somewhere else. But don't feel obliged to find the exact same shade.
In fact, don't drive yourself mad trying. A colour that sits alongside what's already there can be much more interesting than a perfect match. You might go darker, brighter, softer or completely sideways.
Maybe your room is full of greens and neutrals and the thing it really needs is a bit of orange. Maybe you've got lots of warm colours and a hit of blue would give everything a bit more oomph. Or maybe you've got a fairly restrained room and you've found a fabric that is gloriously, unapologetically loud. I mean, you could put up a beige lampshade, or, you could just have some fun. I know which one I'd choose for you.
And yes, you can have another pattern, this is another one I don't really understand...
"But I've already got patterned curtains."
Good. Have another pattern.
"I've got wallpaper with flowers on it."
Excellent. Here's a floral lampshade.
"Won't it be too much?"
Possibly.
But too much and interesting are not the same thing. The thing to think about isn't how many patterns you've got. It's whether they are fighting with each other. Look at the colours. Look at the scale. Look at how busy each pattern actually is.
A large-scale wallpaper can work brilliantly with a smaller print. A really busy room might need something quieter. Or perhaps it needs something even more outrageous to make the whole thing work.
There isn't a magic number of patterns you're allowed before someone from the Interior Design Police comes round. And if there is, I'm not answering the door.
Then there's the shape
We probably spend too much time talking about lampshade fabric and not enough about what the actual shade looks like, Because shape does make a difference; a simple drum is clean and unfussy, an Empire has a more traditional feel, a bell is softer and a little more decorative, and a cottage-loaf shape is... well, it's a cottage-loaf shape. Which is why I like it.
And then you can start messing about with the details.
Ruffles.
Gathering.
Trims.
Different finishes.
Little details that make a shade feel less like something you bought to fill the empty space on a lamp and more like something you actually chose.
And that's really the point.
So what should you actually choose?
If you're staring at a bonkers number of lampshades and have somehow made the decision much harder than it needed to be, here's where I'd start; take a look around your room and ask yourself:
What's already working?
What do you love?
What's missing?
Is everything feeling a bit safe? Add some colour.
Already got lots going on? Maybe let the shade be quieter.
Got a room full of straight lines? A softer shape might be exactly what you need.
Everything is very sensible? Well... perhaps it's time for a ruffle.
And if you've fallen completely in love with something that doesn't obviously "go" with anything else in the room?
I'd probably go with that.
Because you don't actually need your lampshade to match your room.
You need it to belong. And sometimes belonging means fitting in, sometimes it means bringing everything together, and sometimes it means standing there looking fabulous and refusing to behave.
I mean we all love a room where everything coordinates beautifully, but we're even more partial to the room where one completely brilliant thing refuses to behave.
Your lampshade doesn't have to disappear into the scheme. It can be the bit that makes you smile every time you walk through the door.
And if you do end up redecorating around it... Well. I promise not to tell anyone. Good luck and if you want an opinion, a bit of encouragement or just to chat it through give me a holler at SeriouslyShady@outlook.com