Lamp Shade Sizes (Dimensions Guide)
Here’s our lamp shade sizes guide including options for the living room, bedroom, and office, popular dimensions, and how to measure one.
Are you looking to replace your lamp shade? Or perhaps looking to buy a new shade for your newly thrifted lamp base.
Here is a simple guide to help you get a head start on your search. Ready? Here we go!
Standard Lamp Shade Sizes
The standard lampshade that is used in a home that would work in your living room may not work for the bedroom or even for your home office. So, what dimensions should a table lampshade be?
| Shade Size | Top Diameter | Bottom Diameter | Slanted Height | Recommended Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 6″ to 10″ | 12″ to 14″ | 8″ to 9″ | Nightstand & decorative |
| Medium | 10″ to 13″ | 16″ to 19″ | 10″ to 12″ | Table & smaller floor models |
| Large | 14″ to 18″ | 20″ to 24″ | 11″ to 15″ | Larger table & standard floor models |
| Extra Large | 18″+ | 25″+ | 15″ + | Grand floor & statement pieces |
The first thing to know is the overall lamp and table measurements, especially for the living room, where we mostly spend our free time at home.
It is important to remember that your lamp should not be 150 percent taller than the table it would be sitting on. The second tip is that the shade of the lamp’s diameter should be no less than two inches of the lamp’s base length.
To illustrate, if you have a lamp with a base height of 12 inches, your shade diameter should be between 10 and 14 inches. Lastly, the shade’s length from top to bottom should be ⅓ of the lamp’s overall height. For instance, in a 12-inch lamp, the cover should be ⅓ its size or 4 inches.
Living Room
Almost every standard side table for the living room is somewhere between 28 to 30 inches so the ideal living room lampshade size is between 24 to 34 inches.
This measurement will make sure that the person sitting on the sofa has their eye leveled on the bottom of the lamp’s cover.
Bedroom
The lamp’s main requirement is to be accessible when seated on the bed, reading or conversing with a partner.
The ideal table lampshade for the bedroom is between 24 to 27 inches and the end of the lamp’s shade should be leveled with your chin when you are seated.
Office Lamp
Office lamps are another ballpark entirely since this room’s primary use is for you to work in it, more than adequate lighting is required.
This will mean that a taller table lamp that would exceed your height when seated is required to illuminate a wider area. A 30-inch lamp from the top to the base in a 32-inch table will do the trick.
Floor Lamp Height
Floor lamps have an overall height of 58 to 64 inches and this measurement is based on the sitting height of an average person.
The bottom of the lamp’s shade should be at your eye level when you are sitting on a couch or a chair. Be sure to measure your eye level when seated, and you can adjust it according to your needs.
If your sofa is smaller, go with a shorter lamp; if it is taller, it’s best to go with a taller one.
Shade Collar Ring Sizes For Lamps
Shade collar rings allow you to add shade to your light fixture designs. Choosing a collar ring for your light heavily depends on the size or diameter of your lamp holder or socket, so be sure to determine the size of your holder before adding a collar ring.
Lamp Harp Sizes
The lamp harp is the part to which the lampshade is attached. It usually has two parts, and that is the saddle, which is situated under the socket, and the harp itself, which is made of a frame made of a lightweight material framing the bottom of the socket to a point above the bulb.
What Size of A Lamp Cover Do I Need?
When choosing a lampshade, you first need to determine the base’s general shape. Make sure that whatever your base is, whether it is circular or angular, will usually look good if you opt for a shade shape that follows the base’s shape— a circular base for a circular shade and vice versa.
The second thing to remember is the width of a lampshade will look better if you follow or base it on the height of the base or bottom. In this way, everything will look proportionate and symmetrical.
The third thing to identify is the shade height, which should be a third of its overall height, and the last thing is your lampshade should have a wider width than that of its base.
How to Measure a Lamp Cover
Have you ever thrifted or found the perfect lamp base at a thrift store or an antique market, and you’re excited about finding just the right shade for it online? Where do you even start?
Simply eyeing what you need might lead to a lot of inconsistencies. Luckily it is fairly easy to measure what lampshade you need. All you need to do is measure the height and the width of the lamp’s base. Once you have that, measuring your lampshade’s size will be foolproof.
Your lamp’s shade size should be twice as wide as its base and a third of the height as tall as your lamp’s height. Thus, if you have one with a total height of 12 inches, you need a cover 4 inches high, and if your lamp’s base is 6 inches, you need a lampshade that is 12 inches wide.
We hope that this little compendium of guides, tips, and measurements helps you in your quest to find the right size. Good luck!
For more related content, visit our article about the types of lamp shades here.
