Want to know the types of drum lamp shades you can get out there?

There are many different types of lamp shades available today. Lampshades offer different benefits depending on the material and color. They add beauty to your lamps as well as adding atmosphere to rooms by providing diffused light that is easy on the eyes.

Lampshades are available in different shapes and styles. There are drum, cylinder, coolie, empire, square, flare, cone, bell, hexagonal bell and rectangular lamp shades. 

The drum shade is closely associated with the cylinder lamp shade. However, they differ from the cylinder lamp shade because they are usually not as tall as a cylinder shade. 

The drum lamp shade can be used on either a table lamp, a floor lamp or a hanging lamp. Irrespective of where used, a drum shade typically allows almost the same quantity of light to spread downward and upwards even though unlike the typical cylindrical lamp shade, the spread is more on the downward. This makes it focus more light under your table or by your bedside, and at the same time give sufficient ambient light spread that illuminates the entire room.

Practically, a drum lamp shade gives you the following benefit:

•    Direct light focusing through the upper and lower opening of the lampshade, giving you both focused and ambient light. 

•    Provides a greater downward spread that makes it great for study. 

•    Perfect for table and floor lamps and used for pendant lamps. 

There are different designs of drum shades out there, and different manufacturers make each of these drum shades. However, few things need to consider when purchasing your drum lamp shade:

•    The Fitter:This is how your bulb connects to your lamp. There are two different types of fitters. One is the spider fitter at the top of the shade. This allows you to attach the shade to a harp which connects to a support mounted underneath the socket. The other is a UNO or EURO fitter. This is usually located at the bottom of the shade and it has a larger hole than a top spider. The reason is because the UNO fitter goes over the bulb socket which is threaded. It is then secured in place with a threaded washer that screws onto the socket.

•    The bulb size: The size of your drum lamp shade determines the wattage of the bulb you can use. This is because bulbs produce heat that could affect the inner lining of the lamp shade. So the closer the shade to the bulb the lower the wattage of the bulb.

•    The shade back lining:Every drum lamp shade is either lined with a hardback or a soft back. The hardback lining is made of styrene plastic and the outside fabric is attached to the styrene.  Soft back lining is fabric and makes for a more diffused lighting. The hardback shades are usually less expensive that the soft back because soft back shades take more labor to assemble and the fabric is more expensive than the styrene.

Drum shades have been since the 17th century, and it is still being used today for different types of furniture, room style, and purposes.