Lamp Shade Sizing Worksheet

If your lamp has different hardware or the sizing is tricky, I'm happy take a look and offer my recommendation. I have a checklist of things I need to help you find the right shade for your lamp. I also have additional resources on my blog about lamp hardware and terminology.

Choose your bulb based on your shade size and not on what your lamp base can handle. Larger shades will be further away from the light bulb allowing for higher wattage bulbs, but keep in mind that the more wattage, the more wear you are putting your shade through.

While LEDs emit less heat than incandescent bulbs, heat output is not the only thing that affects the well-being of your shade. Lumen output (the measurement of light) can still have an affect on how quickly a shade yellows and brittles with time.

Lumen output is how we determine wattage equivalents. A 60W incandescent light bulb uses 60 watts of power and gives off a minimum of 800 lumens of light. A 60W equivalent LED light bulb also gives off a minimum of 800 lumens. Even if we don't see any immediate damage being done and the shade never gets warm, this lumen exposure impacts the shade.

I recommend not using more than a 40W equivalent on a 9" diameter shade or smaller.