Desig House: Rita notes: Choosing Lampshades

Rita Konig explains how to select the right style, size and shape of lampshade.

Lampshades are to a room what shoes are to an outfit and I am afraid that they can cost about the same. Don't hesitate in spending money on your lampshades; they last forever and make such an enormous difference to the overall feeling of a room. In fact, I think they are probably more impactful than one's shoes.

When I am trying to fit an expensive lampshade within a tight budget, I often combine it with an inexpensive lamp, such as one from Pooky, a fantastic company started by the guys behind Sofa.com. The website has masses of designs in good shapes at excellent prices. Using an affordable lamp with an expensive shade is no different to mixing a bit of Topshop with your Louboutins. Pooky has great shades as well, but I would avoid buying a lamp and shade together; they are on to such a good thing that any minute now the designs will become very recognisable in people's houses.

I have a few go-to places for lampshades: 'Papyrus' shades from Robert Kime are among my favourites and so smart with their hexagonal shape. The texture of the paper looks beautiful when the lamp is lit, as does the warm light cast through it.

The trend for patterned, gathered fabric shades has reached near epidemic status, but they are often so heavy they barely let out any light. Robert Kime was one of the first to make them - and still does. I think his ones are the best, as they have a lightness that is very pretty and, being made from vintage textiles, two are rarely the same. Guinevere Antiques makes lovely shades from old saris, or you can choose an antique textile from its stock. Nushka has some beautiful gathered shades in quite unusual colours, including ochre - an excellent neutral for when you don't want to introduce another colour to a scheme.

The shades that I find myself using over and over again are Lucy Jane Cope's 'Squiggle' shades, which I sell through my website. Rooms can get very uniform, so these hand-painted shades are a nice touch. When I was growing up, my mother used Florentine and Venetian papers to make lampshades. I love this look; Pentreath & Hall sells similar marbled paper shades. Soane does rattan lampshades, which are delightful, and it also has a proper heavy cream - almost tobacco - card shade, which is exactly what many rooms need. Cream card shades are very useful, especially for more elaborate lamps. I often buy pretty end papers from Shepherds from which to make shades, or use brown paper with coloured bindings. Ann's on Kensington Church Street, W8 (020-7937 5033) will make them up for you and will also re-cover old shades that are in need of a little love.

Shape and size is always a conundrum and there isn't a reliable formula. The easiest way to gauge proportions is to try other shades from around the house - even if they are wrong (which they probably will be), they will give you a better idea of what you need than simply staring at the lamp and waving a tape measure around it. I would always err on the larger side and also make sure that a shade is tall enough to cover the fitting. Peter Jones sells rise-and-fall shade carriers that help with this. Personally, I can't stand drum shades and much prefer something rather like a sawn-off witch's hat - slightly taller than the more traditional __design and with a good slope (see the lamp on the right in the photo above for an idea).

You don't have to do all the shades at once and it really is worth starting out with some inexpensive card ones and then replacing them with the ones you really want as and when you can afford to.

Rita's picks: Lampshades