Choosing the Best Floor Lamp Shades for Your Shoji Lamp

Choosing the perfect floor lamp shades can seem to be a daunting task when there are so many choices available, and this can be especially true for your shoji floor lamp. Shoji lamps most often consist of rice paper stretched over a square or rectangular bamboo structure, and there are a few factors to consider when choosing the best of these types of shades. Shoji shades are traditionally part of a Japanese floor lamp, though the shoji style of lamp shade has been adapted so that it can be added separately to other, more Western styles of lamps.

Shoji Shade Durability

Shoji lamp shades traditionally do not contain any metal support structure, and many first time buyers think that rice paper may be too easily damaged or may even be a fire hazard. In reality, these shades have been crafted with rice paper that has been treated to make it quite resistant to these types of problems.

Color and Shape

Before selecting a shoji shade for your floor lamp, consider the rice paper color and how well it will coordinate with the rest of the room. If you have darker furniture with warmer wood accents like mahogany, look for a shade with a lighter color but that still has warmer undertones. While shoji lamp shades are most often square or rectangular, some are also available in round or oval shapes. This is a departure from other lamp shade types that usually come in curved bell- or drum shapes, particularly if they are made of fabric or thinly pressed metal. Look at the shapes and style of your existing furniture for an idea of which shape would fit the best.

If you are adding a separate shoji shade to a tall metal floor lamp, you have some of the most flexibility in terms of color. A black metal base can look stunning with a bolder-colored shoji shade, while a gold or silver metal base will do well with any white or near white shade.

Size of the Floor Lamp

Like all types of floor lamps, shoji floor lamps can also come in a variety of sizes and heights. Traditional shoji lamps are set quite close to the floor and may be only a couple of feet high. However, adapting shoiji lamp shades for taller floor lamps has become popular. These types of taller lamps used to only have glass shades, though they were often found to diffuse light in only one direction, sometimes only upward toward the ceiling. The appeal of replacing them with a shoji shade is that a shoji shade diffuses softer light in all directions, which can do a great deal in making a room appear warmer and more inviting.

If you are adding a shoji shade to a tall floor lamp, use the size of the shade attachment base as a guide for the right shade size. A shoji shade that is too large can look overwhelming and a bit awkward, while one that is too small can look out of proportion with both the lamp and the rest of the room.