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Many people will agree that a lamp shade is indeed a practical investment to buy for your home. This piece of furniture is the epitome of the perfect balance between form and function.  

While it gives off light to brighten up a room and make it easy for people to move around and do tasks, at the same time it serves to beautify the surroundings and add flair to the ambience.  

Lampshades are some of the most widely loved furniture there is. In fact, there are a lot of people who have become lampshade collectors as they have fallen in love with the charms of this furniture.

But do you know that there is another good reason to fall in love with lampshades?  Lampshades can be an outlet for expression of creativity and artistry. Before you scratch your head and wonder why, here are some of the ways you can express your creativity through lampshades: 

1. Create your own lampshade masterpieces. Who said that buying is the only way to acquire lampshades? Making your own is not only fun but cost-efficient as well.
2. Restore old or broken lampshades. They say there is money in trash. That statement is true all the time. So before throwing out any broken or dilapidated lampshade, brush up your artistic skills and set out a lamp makeover project to give it a new and exciting look.
3. Decorate plain lampshades. Turn a plain looking silk lamp shade into one that sparks with personality by attaching trimmings and beads.
4. Have a lampshade collection. you will find many reasonably prices shades that you can collect.
5. Decorate your home using lampshades. Interior decoration has never been this fun. Use these pieces of furniture to add brightness and style to all the parts of the house.

 To guide you in any of your creative endeavours, here are different easy-to-follow procedures that you will find very useful.  

How to Make your own Lampshades

In order for you create a lampshade masterpiece, you need to have a lamp, a shade frame, decorator’s fabric (with a minimum width of 45") spray adhesive, fabric glue or glue gun, fabric pencil (to be used for marking), sharp scissors, ruler, decorative trims and attachments such as beads, tassels, chainettes or fringes.  

Step 1. Lay your fabric right side up and start marking.  

Step 2. Put the seam of shade face down, near left edge of the fabric. Mark the top and bottom of the seam of fabric. Roll the shade to the right and continue writing dashes on the top and bottom of the shade. Upon reaching the seam of the shade, mark the fabric again at the top and bottom of the seam.  

Step 3: Draw a line connecting the top and bottom dash marks with the use of a ruler. A half inch away from the line you created, draw a second line of dashes. This will be used to fold an overlap.  

Step 4: Cut the outer markings with scissors.  

Step 5: Spray a light even coating of adhesive on the surface of the shade.  

Step 6: Starting from the seam of the shade, match one straight edge of the fabric to the seam.  

Step 7: Cover the shade with the fabric until you reach the seam again. Then fold the overlap and secure the fabric to the shade with a glue.  

Step 8: Trim any excess fabric or glue.  

Step 9: Do not forget to add a personal touch by placing attachments, trimmings, beads, fringes, or any other decorative ornaments you want to use.  

Step 10: Enjoy and marvel at your lampshade masterpiece.  How to Restore Old LampshadesIf you find lampshades at your home that are a little old and worn out and yet still in top working condition, you do not have to bid goodbye to them.   

Cleaning the lampshade is the first step in restoration. To be able to redecorate it and give it a face lift, it is important that it is completely clean and dust free.  

One way to restore a lampshade is to repaint the shade. Use a paint brush to hand paint your shade. You can use stencils of designs and shapes you want to paint or just let your imagination flow as you use the surface of the shade as your canvas.  

Another way to give your shade a revamp is to remove old trimmings and decorative ornaments and replace them with new ones. Sometimes, the shade itself is not the one making it look shabby and old but the worn out ornaments.  

You can also give your lampshade a new look by purchasing lamp shade replacements. Online, you will find many great deals on replacements for your lampshade that are of good quality and yet very affordable.  

How to Decorate Plain LampshadesPlain lampshades look dull for some but those with penchant for artistry see this as a great opportunity to get those creative juices working. Here are some decorating techniques you might want to use in your next lampshade decorating project: 

1. Attach embellishments such as buttons, beads, sequins or whatever it is you can think of. Do not be afraid to try and experiment.  

2. Cover the shade with layers of ribbons. You can use different colors and textures to give the shade a more exciting appearance.  

3. Paint stencilled designs on your shade. Hand painting your shade is a good way to let your artistic side flourish. If you are feeling more adventurous, throw away the stencil and let your hand freely do its thing.  

4. Use artificial or dried flowers and foliage to decorate your plain lampshade and transform it into a piece of art.  

With patience and imagination, you can easily turn any simple lampshade, whether it is a square lampshade or drum lamp shades into those with an exquisite and personalized style. 

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 2:32 pm and is filed under Bedroom decoration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.