Lampshades are the crowning glory of a lamp base. There are so many different types of Lampshades that you may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of choosing a shade for a table, floor, or ceiling light. They can be made out of any material, including nut shells, handmade paper, stained glass, or metal ribbon, and form it into practically any shape, such as a bell, curl, cube, or drum. Separating different types of Lampshades by shape is easy enough just by looking at them. But we can also differentiate between them by how they light a room. For instance, task lighting can be accomplished by a clear glass globe that lets through almost all of the light. On the other hand, ambient lighting adds more mood than brightness.

Sometimes Lampshades can eclipse the entire lamp base. For example, Shoji lamps incorporate the paper shade into the structure of the stand. Some hanging lamps connect to the ceiling through a cord, so the entire lamp is a circular Chinese-styled shade surrounding a bulb.

The various shapes that are available for Lampshades are:

- Empire Lampshade- a round shape Lampshade with straight sloped side. The shade slope is not exaggerated but rather at a traditional angle, the most common type of shade found.

- Bell Lampshade - the same as an empire Lampshade except the side is curved not straight.

- Drum Lampshade - a round shape Lampshade with straight side where the top and bottom diameter are near each other crating a near cylindrical or drum type of shape.

- Coolee Lampshade - a round shape Lampshade with straight or curved sloped side. The shade slope is exaggerated due the top diameter being much smaller than the bottom diameter thus resembling a Chinese coolee hat.

- Hexagon Lampshade - six sided Lampshade

- Octagon Lampshade - eight sided Lampshade

- Cut Corner Lampshade - the corners are cut straight across instead of a right angle.

- Inverted Cut Corner Lampshade - the corners are cut inward in a curve instead of a right angle.

- Out round Corner Lampshade - the corners are rounded outward in a curve instead of a right angle.

- Scallop Top or Bottom Lampshade - the top or bottom edge is wavy or curved in a scalloped manner instead of being straight.

- V Notch Lampshade - the top or bottom edge has a "V" shaped design instead of being straight.

- Gallery Lampshade - the bottom edge has a wide gallery section, which may have a different decorative treatment.

- Fancy Square Lampshade - a square top bell shape Lampshade with square bottom where each bottom side has a single out scallop.

- Bouillotte Lampshade - a short drum (or bell drum) Lampshade, named after the French card game where this lamp and shade were commonly found.

- Junior Lampshade - a short drum (or bell drum) Lampshade made especially to fit a 6 way reflector floor lamp that became popular in 1930.

- Uno Lampshade - any Lampshade where the shade "FITTER" is large enough to slip over or screw over the socket.

Lamp shades are made of different fabrics, which give the light dispersed a different effect. The fabrics that are commonly used are appliqué, silk, satin, faux leather, string, handmade paper, stained glass. Also the shades can have a metal frame around which beads are wound. This is generally done on small lamps.

Lamp shades need to be selected carefully, keeping in mind the lamp base as well as the rest of the décor. This is one item that will never go out of fashion!