Made in the shade

For incandescent table lamps, chandeliers and pendants, shades do much more than eliminate the glare of a bare bulb. They become a decorative element in an interior that attracts the eye and can set the tone for the whole room.

Until the 1990s, virtually all lampshades used in the United States were made domestically. Imports from Asia have started to make inroads, but there are still many U.S. manufacturers going strong. Handmade and custom shades are common in the industry. Distributors and small studios that specialize in a particular material or look have created their own niches, making for dozens of possible sources. Shades are commonly made with fabric, either alone or backed with styrene plastic, but there are a wide variety of alternative materials including glass, rawhide, paper and mica.

Today, lampshades are going through a creative renaissance. "Right now we're going into a lot of exotic stripes and beads," says Dave Rosenthal, sales manager for Roseart Lampshades, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. "Beads right now are very hot. So are striped fabrics and more exotic shapes such as bell squares and rectangles with inverted corners. We're making striped shades with combinations such as black and taupe with black beads or gold and cream with amber beads. In colors, we're doing a lot of red shades and high tones like saffron yellows."

"More and more of our shades are being made out of decorative fabrics such as upholstery fabrics and animal prints," says Howard Kule, president of Silk-O-Lite Lampshades, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. "Years ago, the industry was very bland. Now the consumer has gone with a more decorative look. Trims are more detailed—you'll even see ostrich feathers. For guest rooms, hotels are still using the bland white and beige shades, although they are going a little more decorative for their lobbies."

Some of the most spirited decorative shades are found in restaurants, which may feature one-of-a-kind artists' creations. Internationally renowned designer Adam Tihany of Adam D. Tihany International, New York, used lampshades as a key element in transforming the Edwardian Room restaurant at the city's Plaza Hotel into a new destination, ONEc.p.s. "The challenge was this: How to transform several old-fashioned and immovable existing chandeliers into contemporary, whimsical and artsy design elements," says Tihany. "The size of the shades was dictated by the size of the existing chandeliers. The color red was chosen to create the warmth, glow and magic of the space."

Shades are an integral part of the interior décor at The Clubhouse, a nationwide chain of three restaurants owned by partners that include Jack Nicklaus and Kevin Costner. Another partner, Jerry Kleiner of Elmhurst, Ill., designs the restaurant interiors. "Clubhouses are generally private establishments for elitists," Kleiner says. "It was important for me to create an environment that is grand in scale yet also open to the masses." The motto of The Clubhouse is "Where you belong" and the restaurant strives to create an impression of luxury that will embrace each person who enters.

In the newest Clubhouse in Atlanta, patrons entering the bar pass under a huge pendant lantern hanging from a 26-ft. ceiling. The steel-framed shade is 8 ft. in diameter and 7 1/2 ft. tall. Kleiner himself designed and manufactured the giant lantern in his studio. "I wanted something bold and powerful that would be very warm and inviting," says Kleiner. "When you look at the silk fabric, the hue has an amber glow that casts a radiance on the skin. The red fringe is silk imported from France." Smaller lampshades dot the restaurant interior, coordinating with the grand pendant.

Selected Nordstrom stores are similarly using a grand pendant with a custom-made silk lampshade. The fabric is hand block-printed by Galbraith & Paul, a studio in Philadelphia. "It's a leaf pattern on a pale butter color," says partner Liz Galbraith. "We designed and printed the fabric for the fixtures, which are 12 ft. in diameter. A lampshade can be the one thing that gives an interior environment its feeling. You can change the shades and create a whole different impression."