Lampshade Shapes: The Love Frankie Guide

Drum? Cone? French drum? Tube? Gathered? Something with an outrageous amount of fringe?

Choosing the right lampshade isn't always about getting the size right.

Sometimes you can measure everything perfectly, pop the shade onto your lamp and still stand back thinking...

Nope. Something looks weird.

Quite often, it's the shape.

Different lampshade shapes can completely change the proportions and personality of a lamp. A chunky ceramic base might look fabulous under a wide drum, while a tall skinny lamp can suddenly make much more sense with a cone.

And sometimes the correct answer is simply an enormous vintage shade with 15cm of fringe.

So before you blame the lamp, let's talk shapes.

IN A RUSH?
Need help choosing a lampshade shape without reading the whole shebang? Jump straight to our Lampshade Shape FAQs for quick answers on drums, cones, French drums, ceiling shades, table lamps and more.

What Are the Different Lampshade Shapes?

There are a LOT of lampshade shapes out there, but the main ones you'll find at Love Frankie are:

Drum Lampshades
Straight sides with the same diameter at the top and bottom.

Oversized Cone Lampshades
A tall, tapered shape, narrower at the top and wider at the bottom.

French Drum Lampshades
A softer, gentler taper than a cone.

Tube Lampshades
Tall and narrow, creating drama through height rather than width.

Rectangular Lampshades
Straight-sided and architectural, particularly useful where space is limited.

Gathered Lampshades
Soft fabric shades with beautiful texture and a more relaxed silhouette.

Vintage Soft Shades
Scallops, curves, decorative braids and glorious quantities of fringe.

Dinky Lampshades
Tiny little shades designed for smaller lamp bases and places where a full-sized shade would simply be too much lampshade.

So which one does your lamp actually want?

Drum Lampshades: The Brilliant All-Rounder

If you're completely bamboozled by lampshade shapes, a drum is a very good place to start.

A drum lampshade has straight sides, with the same diameter at the top and bottom. It's simple, balanced and incredibly versatile.

That's why you'll see drum shades absolutely everywhere.

They work beautifully on table lamps, floor lamps, arc lamps and ceiling pendants, and their clean shape means they don't compete too much with an interesting lamp base or fabulous fabric.

They're also particularly good when you want the colour, pattern or lining of the lampshade itself to do the talking.

Leopard print? Lovely.

Giant colourful stripes? Excellent.

Gold lining? Even better.

Fringe? Obviously.

The simple silhouette can take quite a lot of decorative chaos without the whole thing losing its marbles.

Drum lampshades work particularly well with:

Chunky ceramic bases, round lamp bases, simple modern bases, floor lamps and ceiling pendants...so in essence - everything. 

But that absolutely doesn't mean you always need to use a drum shade, when something a little more fabulous might be called for. 

(I can assure you there is no Lampshade Police. Although we’re doing our very best to become them).

Shop Love Frankie Drum Lampshades

Cone Lampshades: For Short, Squat and Bulbous Lamps

Our Oversized cone shades are narrower at the top and wider at the bottom, creating a much stronger taper than a drum.

And that change in shape can completely transform a lamp.

Cones are particularly fabulous on short, bulbous lamp bases allowing the oversized cone lampshade shape to really steal the spotlight.  The wider bottom helps ground the lamp visually, while the narrower top draws your eye upwards.

They're also brilliant for vintage ceramic lamps and gloriously chunky Fat Lava bases, especially when you lean into the proportions and go BIG.

Our Oversized Cone Lampshades were inspired by the fabulous statement lighting of the 1960s and 70s, and they're designed specifically for lamp bases rather than ceiling pendants.

Cone lampshades work particularly well with:

Short, squat lamp bases, small round bases, vintage ceramic lamps, Fat Lava lamps, substantial statement bases and lamps that need a little more visual weight at the bottom.

French Drum Lampshades: The Happy Medium

Not quite a drum. Not quite a cone.

Sitting very comfortably somewhere in the middle with a glass of wine.

A French drum has a gentle taper, with a slightly smaller diameter at the top than at the bottom. That makes it a brilliant option when a straight drum feels a little too boxy, but a full cone feels too dramatic.

It gives you a softer, slightly more traditional silhouette allowing you to show off your table lamp in all its' glory. 

At Love Frankie, our Mini French Drum Lampshades are petite shades designed particularly for table lamps, bedside lamps and smaller bases. Love Frankie

French drum lampshades work particularly well with:

Smaller table lamps, taller stem bedside lamps, rounded bases, any table lamp where you want the lamp itself to be just as eye catching as the shade.

Tube Lampshades: Tall, Skinny Drama

A tube shade turns the usual lampshade proportions on their head.

Rather than creating impact through width, it creates it through height.

Tall, narrow and wonderfully dramatic, a tube shade can work brilliantly on a slim lamp base or somewhere you want height without a lampshade sprawling halfway across the furniture.

They're particularly good for adding a strong vertical line to a room and can make stripes and graphic patterns look fantastic.

Essentially, if a drum is behaving itself nicely, a tube has turned up just to confuse you.

Tube lampshades work particularly well with:

Slim lamp bases, short lamp bases, smaller surfaces, narrow consoles and anywhere you want height and drama without masses of width.

Rectangular Lampshades: When Space Matters

Rectangular lampshades are the clever ones. 

They give you plenty of shade from the front, but their shallower depth means they can fit into spaces where a large round shade might stick out too far.

Think console tables, narrow sideboards, hallways and lamp bases sitting fairly close to a wall.

They're also brilliant on rectangular or angular lamp bases because the shapes naturally talk to each other.

That doesn't mean everything has to match perfectly, but sometimes repeating the geometry of the base in the shade creates a really satisfying sense of balance.

Rectangular lampshades work particularly well with:

Rectangular bases, angular lamps, narrow consoles, hallways and places where a round shade would take up too much depth.

Gathered Lampshades: Soft, Textured and Full of Character

If all those clean straight edges are feeling a little too sensible, enter the gathered lampshade.

Gathered shades use softly gathered fabric to create texture and movement, giving them a much more relaxed silhouette than a hard-sided drum or cone.

They can look beautifully vintage, but they don't have to feel traditional.

Put a gathered shade in a punchy stripe or fabulous colour combination and suddenly granny's lampshade has been out dancing until 3am.

Our Gathered Lampshades can be used on table lamps and ceiling pendants.

Gathered lampshades work particularly well with:

Bedside lamps, vintage bases, smaller table lamps, ceiling pendants and rooms where you want to introduce softness, texture and a more decorative feel.

Fringed Lampshades: Bring On The Swish 

Technically, fringe is more of a finish than a lampshade shape.

But fringe changes the silhouette of a shade so much that it deserves its own mention.

Adding fringing to a drum immediately makes it feel softer, taller and more decorative. It also adds movement and texture, particularly when the shade is lit.

Our Fringed Lampshades combine drum shades and 10cm fringing, so remember to consider that extra visual height when you're working out whether a shade will suit your lamp and the space around it. 

Fringed lampshades work particularly well with:

Table lamps, floor lamps, ceiling lights, vintage interiors and any lamp currently suffering from a severe lack of fabulousness.

Vintage Lampshades: When More Is More

And then we have the vintage soft shades.

Scalloped silhouettes. Curves. Braids. Fringe. Colour clashes. Leopard print.

Nobody invited restraint.

Unlike a clean geometric drum or cone, a vintage soft shade creates its own silhouette, so you need to think about the whole shape rather than simply diameter and height.

The fringe also becomes part of the overall proportion.

Our Vintage Lampshades are inspired by old cinemas, cocktail bars, grand hotels and wonderfully theatrical vintage interiors. They're designed to be noticed. 

Vintage lampshades work particularly well with:

Decorative table lamps, vintage bases, floor lamps, statement ceiling lights and rooms where nobody has ever uttered the phrase “perhaps that's a bit much.”

Which Lampshade Shape Suits My Lamp Base?

There isn't one magical equation that matches every lamp base to one lampshade shape.

But if you're standing in front of a naked lamp wondering where to begin, try these as a starting point:

But these are starting points, not laws.

If you've got a traditional lamp and desperately want to put a neon leopard drum shade on it, we're certainly not going to stop you.

In fact, we'd probably encourage it.

What Shape Lampshade Is Best for a Ceiling Light?

For ceiling pendants, a drum lampshade is probably the most versatile place to start.

Its simple shape works in almost every room and comes in enough sizes to go from a little hallway shade to an enormous statement piece.

If you have a low ceiling, a wide, shallow drum can give you plenty of impact without hanging too far into the room.

Gathered shades can soften a bedroom or living space, while vintage soft shades bring a much more decorative feel.

The important thing with ceiling lights is to consider shape and size together.

A 60cm wide shallow drum and a 60cm wide deep shade may have the same diameter, but they'll feel completely different once they're hanging in the room.

If it's the actual measurements that are making your brain hurt, head over to our Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Sized Lampshade where we've covered ceiling pendants, floor lamps and table lamps, plus our decidedly sophisticated cardboard measuring trick.

What Shape Lampshade Is Best for a Table Lamp?

Start with the shape of the lamp base itself.

If it's short and chunky, a cone can balance it beautifully.

If it's tall and slender, try a French Drum or Fringed Vintage Shade.

If it's an enormous sculptural ceramic base, sometimes keeping the lampshade itself relatively simple lets the lamp do the talking.

And if it's a little bedside lamp, don't bury it beneath an enormous shade unless enormous and ridiculous is precisely the look you're going for.

Most importantly, look at the whole silhouette.

Your eye is much better at spotting an awkward proportion than a measuring tape is.

What Shape Lampshade Is Best for a Floor Lamp?

Floor lamps generally have enough height and presence to carry a more substantial shade.

A large drum is the classic all-rounder, while a Vintage Shade can look fantastic on a tall or more traditional standard lamp.

The biggest thing to watch is the width of the shade in relation to the furniture around it.

A beautifully proportioned lampshade isn't much use if it keeps whacking you on the head every time you stand up.

Again, if you're struggling with the dimensions rather than the silhouette, our Lampshade Size Guide will help you work out where to start.

Same Lamp, Different Lampshade

This is perhaps the easiest way to understand why shape matters.

Take one lamp base.

Put a drum on it.

Now put a cone on it.

Now try a French drum.

Same lamp. Completely different proportions.

One will probably make the base look taller. Another might make it feel wider. One may suddenly make the whole thing look beautifully balanced.

And one might make you wonder what on earth you were thinking.

That's completely normal.

If you're buying online and can't physically try different shapes on your lamp, look at the silhouette of your existing shade and compare it with the new one.

Or, once again, deploy our favourite piece of sophisticated interior-design equipment:

Cardboard.

Cut out the rough silhouette of the shade you're considering and get someone to hold it above your lamp.

It's not glamorous. But It works.

Lampshade Shape FAQs: Your Questions Answered

Lampshade Shape FAQs: Your Questions Answered

Still Can't Decide Which Lampshade Shape You Need?

Send us a photo.

A picture of the lamp base is brilliant.

A picture showing the lamp in the room is even better.

We'll happily tell you which shapes we'd try first.

And remember, choosing a lampshade isn't an exact science.

Sometimes the technically sensible option isn't the one that makes your heart sing.

Sometimes your lovely sensible lamp just needs a giant leopard-print cone on its head.

We support that decision.

You can browse all our handmade lampshades by shape, or explore our full collection of handmade lampshades.

And if it's size rather than shape that's got you in a pickle, our Lampshade Size Guide has you covered.

Love Frankie x