Thursday, September 22, 2011

Chinoiserie Lampshades

Pagoda
Lampshades are, of course, available in a myriad of shapes, colors, and fabrics. I prefer silk if at all possible. My favorite shapes are pagoda, drum, and pleated. White, off-white, eggshell, and black are classic, but think about colors like turquoise or red for an unexpected pop of color. I also like my lampshades big. It is quite interesting to me that Americans like lampshades smaller, while the British prefer their lampshades big and bold, like their love of big hats. The owner of the lamp shop I use and I have agreed to disagree on this subject.

Mary McDonald - Pagoda

Modern Pagoda in Turquoise Silk

Black Lacquered Drum

Black Lacquered Drum

Black Lacquered Drum

Elle Decor - Black Lacquered Drum

White Drum

Ron van Empel - Red

Ron van Empel - Red

Mary McDonald - Rattan Wastebasket Used as Lampshade

Joe Nye - Pleated

Meg Braff - Pleated

4 comments:

  1. I tend to agree with you on the lampshade size. And those Ron Van Empel lamps have been in my dreams since I first saw them on Joni's web site months and month ago. I was/am delirious for them. Would have sold my firstborn into indentured servitude to have them.

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  2. I've now got five RvP light fixtures, and I'm very happy with them. The only caution I'd make is that the ceiling fixtures sometimes require idiosyncratic lightbulbs that are hard to find and difficult to remove/replace. (So I have become that staple of WASP humor: The fellow that calls the electrician to change a light bulb.)

    P.S. I still use a large lamp shade I had made in Boston forty years ago of off-white silk that contains a delicate but lively chinoiserie pattern. It sits happily atop a large piece of blue and white Chinese porcelain that one of my ancestors made almost worthless by drilling it for a lamp.

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  3. Love them!! My parents have a pair similiar to those by White Drum in blue and white and they are spectacular. Would love to find a spot in my new house for a pair ( or 2 or 3) :)

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  4. It seems like lampshades are harder to find in stores -- esp the kind that do not require a harp.

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