Fabric Lamp Shades - Choosing The Right Colors And Fabrics

When you decorate a space, the two most visual and inexpensive changes in a room are painting the walls and changing the fabrics of the furniture and the decorative accents, such as pillows and lamp shades.

The former has endless possibilities in colors, textures, trims, and details, and the latter depends only on the availability of a fabric which you like. Once you pick a fabric that you like, you can use the same fabric to make everything from curtains, valances, to bed shams. You can also use it for fabric lamp shades, because the fabric can be used to line the frame. Fabric is very flexible this way.

The thicker the fabric on the lamp shade, the less light will shine through. If the fabric is too thin, too much light may shine through, but this can be corrected by using a base fabric underneath. Starch is often used on the fabric to eliminate eventual creases and folds. Folds, on the other hand, may be what you want, and this is as simple to achieve as sewing the fabric with pleats. These pleats can be ironed. For a more ruffled look, the fabric can be wrinkled using elastic thread before applying it onto the fabric shade. Ruffles can be added above as well as below the lamp shade, as well as trims and ribbons.

The most elegant fabric lamp shades are made with most the most refined fabrics, including silk and linen. Any style of room can be brightened with an off white or crude white fabric lamp shade, and any color or color combination can be highlighted by a matching lamp shade. It is important to remember that darker colors and dimmer lights shrink the perception of the space around them, and that brighter lights and lighter colors make a room seem more spacious. From an existing array of colors which decorate a room, selecting one or two of the lighter colors and then using those in fabric lamp shades will generate a sense of harmony and thoughtful design.

Many fabric patterns are produced industrially in different color combinations. You may find the same exact design of fabric in various versions, one with tiny dots in yellow, another with tiny dots in red, and yet another with tiny dots in blue, leaving the rest of the pattern unchanged. Combining these by using them side by side in fabric lamp shades or bedding, for example, still maintains a harmonious unity. You can also find reverse print patterns, where one is, for example, blue paisleys on a yellow background, and the other is yellow paisleys on a blue background. Side by side, these play well together. Yet another playful arrangement is placing side by side the identical pattern, in identical colors, but in different sizes of print. Tiny daisies, next to medium sized daisies, repeated in giant daisies. Then you can put the final touch on the room by strategically placing a vase with natural daisies.