When you are designing a room in a certain style every element in the room from the flooring, to the furniture to the curtains needs to be in keeping with your chosen theme or style, otherwise elements of your room will stand out for all the wrong reasons. And lamp shades are no exception to this style rule.

In some cases you can get away with very plain and simple lamp shades which are pretty inoffensive and will hardly be noticed but if you do that you will be missing a trick and will have to try harder with other elements in the room to establish the style of it.

You can buy lamp shades in every style so you may as well make the most of that fact to help set the theme of your room.

For example, if you have a very contemporary room you can buy lamp shades in glass or perspex and chrome with shapes which are out of this world and they will not only act as lighting but also stand out as decorative elements in what will probably be a relatively minimalist interior.

If on the other hand you have a very traditional living room with Chinese rugs and polished wooden furniture you can buy lamp shades and bases to suit with Chinese pattern and shapes.

And if you are decorating a young child’s room you can choose nursery lamp shades which have an element of fun and which the child will enjoy.

Whatever style you have in mind there is no need to go plain. If you are at a loss because you can’t find anything locally that goes well with your room, take a look online where there is so much choice that you are bound to find something suitable. If you prefer, you can also send for lighting catalogs from lighting companies you find online or in the interior design press.