What Size Lampshade Do I Need? A Simple Guide to Building Your Own Lamp

If you only read one thing, make it this. Measure your base from the bottom to the fitting where the shade sits, then use that height as your guide to shade width.

• 25cm shades suit petite bases under 30cm tall. Think bedside tables, desks and narrow shelves.
• 35cm shades suit most standard table lamp bases, around 30 to 40cm tall. The everyday choice for side tables and consoles.
• 45cm shades suit tall or substantial table lamp bases over 40cm, and floor lamps.

Torn between two sizes? Go bigger. A generous shade looks intentional; one that's too small looks like it borrowed someone else's hat.

A lamp can be perfectly proportioned and still feel wrong in its spot. Before you settle on a size, look at where it will live.

The surface. The shade shouldn't hang over the edge of the table it sits on. On a narrow bedside or a slim console, a 25cm or 35cm shade keeps things comfortable. A generous side table beside a deep sofa can happily take a 45cm.

The room. Big rooms with substantial furniture swallow small lamps, so size up. In a compact bedroom or study, a smaller shade keeps the space feeling airy.

Where you'll sit. For a reading or bedside lamp, the bottom of the shade should sit at roughly eye level when you're seated or sitting up in bed. Any higher and you'll be looking straight at the globe.

Colour and pattern. Dark, bold and busy shades look smaller than pale plain ones. If you've fallen for a deep floral or a graphic gingham, consider going up a size so it carries the same presence a plain linen shade would.

A beautiful pairing still needs to fit together. Run through these three checks before you buy.

The fitting. Every shade and base in our Mix & Match range uses a standard E27 fitting, so any shade will sit on any base. The shade's ring simply rests on the lamp holder at the top of the base.

The globe. Each base takes an E27 screw-in globe, and each shade lists a maximum wattage. An LED globe in a warm white runs cool, sits comfortably inside fabric and rattan shades and gives that soft evening glow.

The view. Once it's assembled, stand back and sit down near it. You shouldn't see the fitting from across the room or the globe from your seat. If you can, the shade is either too shallow or sitting too high for that spot.

Shopping online? Before you check out, compare three numbers from the product pages: the base's height to the fitting, its widest point and the shade's bottom diameter. If they line up with the guide above, you can be confident the pairing will work before it arrives.

These proportions are guidelines, not laws. Some of the most memorable lamps play against them: an oversized embroidered shade on a small sculptural base, or a petite scallop perched on something tall and slender.

If you're tempted to go off-script, ask yourself three things. Is the lamp stable? Is the globe hidden from where you'll sit? Does it look like a choice rather than a mistake? Three yeses and you've made something with real personality.

Get the size right and everything else falls into place. Then the only hard part is choosing your favourite print. Explore Mix & Match Lighting and start building yours.