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You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Decorate Your Home » The Tale of the Broken Lamp Shades

The Tale of the Broken Lamp Shades

by Lindsay Ballard on July 29, 2013 Leave a Comment

Once upon a time, there was a girl who found a pair of beautiful turquoise lamps at a vintage show. Although the lamps were amazing and in perfect condition, they were sans lamp shades.  After a long search, the girl found a pair of self-adhesive lamp shades at Hobby Lobby that she was able to customize to and create the perfect light source for her nightstands.

The Tale of the Broken Lamp Shades via MakelyHome.com

It wasn’t easy to find the right color, height and width of shades for these lamps, so the girl thought she had struck gold.  That is, until one of the drop arms on one of the shades broke.

The Tale of the Broken Lamp Shades via MakelyHome.com

That shade looks like she’s been to one too many parties, huh?  I would think that maybe I was doing some weird sleep walking/accessory rearranging type thing, but the same thing happened to the lamp on Tom’s side of the bed at about the same time. Quality!

So, the search was back on for another pair of lamp shades.  I knew that I didn’t want to buy the same shades again, so that was off the table.  I searched high and low and eventually found a shade at Lamps Plus that I thought might work.  So, I ordered a pair of them. When they arrived, I was excited to replace the old, broken shades.

The Tale of the Broken Lamp Shades via MakelyHome.com

Um, negatory.  This one sat too low on the lamp.  It wasn’t wide enough to hit the neck of the lamp in that location.

Back to the drawing board.  I found a pair of shades at Marshall’s that I thought might work.  I bought the pair and tried them out on my lamps, with the plastic still wrapped around the shade.

The Tale of the Broken Lamp Shades via MakelyHome.com

Hmmm…still not a winner.  This one was too wide to hit the lamp neck in that location.  I was beginning to feel like Goldilocks!

Then, I found some adjustable lamp shade harps at Target.  I played around with the height of the harps and settled on this height for the larger shade.

The Tale of the Broken Lamp Shades via MakelyHome.com

Alright, alright, alright. We were headed in the right direction.  I still felt that this shade was too large and too off-white to go on this lamp, though.  So, I returned them to Marshall’s.

Then, I tried the adjustable harp with the smaller lamp shade I had purchased from Lamps Plus.

The Tale of the Broken Lamp Shades via MakelyHome.com

Ahhh, that’s better!  I think we have a winner.

Now, I don’t believe that this is the very best lamp shade on the face of the earth for this lamp, but it’s definitely the best that I have been able to come up with at this point.  I like that it displays the full neck of the lamp and doesn’t overpower the lamp.   The width is nice with the harp adjusted at this height, although it could stand to be a tad taller and a tad wider.  I’ll keep searching for the “perfect” version, but until I find it, I’m happy with this one.

I think a lamp shade can make or break a lamp.  I go through painstaking efforts to make sure that the lamp shades fit the lamps.  If you’d like to read more about what makes the “perfect” shade, try this article from Shades of Light – I largely agree with the points that they make.

Do you have difficulty finding the perfect lamp shade to compliment a lamp?  How have you worked with what you could find?

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


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