drum lampshades, midcentury modern design

This 13 inch diameter x 9 inch tall cream drum lampshade is narrower (smaller diameter) than the above 15 inch diameter drum shade, but it is an inch taller. Any drum shade can easily be made shorter taller as required. The pictures above illustrate what happens you change just two variables incrementally. There are many possible combinations of shade diameter and height that can be experimented with to find the perfect proportions for a given lighting application.

Blue is a great color for atmosphere and accent lighting. We don’t recommend using blue for as the main color for task lighting, reading, dining, or general illumination, for reasons that should be obvious. You can always use blue as an accent color on a tiered lamp, i.e. as the color for the smaller tiers. Blue is great on smaller lamps, because they are usually used for accent lighting. It’s also a great color if you want to match a lamp that has the same tones. Of course, if you really want a blue lamp or drum lampshade, we’re not going to tell you no..

Large (15 inch diameter) drums lampshades are versatile: they make great hanging lamps; they are good for smaller floor lamps or on floor lamps where you don’t enough room for an XL (18 inch diameter) lampshade; and they are good on large table lamps (generally 14 inches to 16″ tall, although there are exceptions).

The clean lines of the low-profile drum shade (wider than it is tall) are central element of classic midcentury lighting design. The wide and low profile only becomes a factor on shades when they are 12 inches diameter and up. Shorter diameter shades appear more tubular (the small diameter but taller height tube shape is another common design in midcentury lighting design). When trying to design a shade for a floor lamp or pendant light, the geometry of the shade can take precedence, but when trying to fit a shade to a table lamp, it is more important to select a shade style that will compliment the lamp base. The simplicity of the drum shade makes it a good choice for many lamps.