Plastic Lamp Shades

Vanessa Weber Interior Design Expert

Vanessa is a New York-based designer specializing in architectural lighting. Whether you are planning an event, want to illuminate your backyard retreat or simply need advice on what lamp to purchase for your bedroom, Vanessa will be more than happy to share her knowledge and expertise.

Updated 29/04/2021

Get away from the easily-breakable glass lampshades and give one of these plastic lamp shades a try. Versatile, hardened plastic is a smart and safe way to shade your lamps, of all sizes. In many styles and colors, there is sure to be a single shade, or set of plastic lamp shades, to meet your needs. Look in this collection and find one that is perfect for you.

Buying Guide

Plastic lamp shades come with their own sets of advantages that are appealing to certain groups of people. For example, plastic lamp shades are more durable compared to paper-based or fabric lamp shades. Lamp shades made of plastic also come in more varieties in terms of color and design.

While the countless varieties mean you don't have to settle for something that is just "okay," your options can also be a source of confusion. Too many choices often lead to analysis paralysis. To make your shopping experience easier and more enjoyable, this article is going to help you by providing you with a buying guide for plastic lamp shades.

What types of plastics are used in lamp shades?

For many, the term plastic describes one type of plastic. In reality, there are plenty of plastic types and knowing the common ones will give you a better idea of the kind you want or need. The typical plastic types often used for lamp shades include:

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) - Less durable compared to other types of plastics, but very economical.
High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) - Very durable and resistant to strong chemicals. It's also easy to recycle, which is something to take note if you want something eco-friendly.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) - A very versatile plastic that can be very soft or very hard. The costs depend on how hard or soft it's made.
Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) - A plastic that can resist temperatures nearing 100 degrees Celsius. It's an excellent plastic type if you're worried about the heat generated by the bulb or simply worried about fire hazards.
Polypropylene (PP) - A plastic that is also very durable and comes with very low toxicity levels. It's even considered as a "food safe" material.

What purpose will your plastic lamp shade serve?

The primary purpose of your lampshade will also have a significant impact on what kind you need to get. There are two major categories for lampshade use. There's ambient lighting and task lighting.

The primary purpose of an ambient light is for providing overall lighting to a room. On the other hand, task lighting's primary purpose is to give you illumination to help you with a certain task (i.e., reading, sketching, writing).

If you're buying plastic lamp shades for ambient lighting, then you want the light to go out from the sides and top. This means that you'd want the plastic to be more translucent so more light can pass through. Also, you'd want a shape that won't direct most of the light downwards like a drum-shape or reverse empire.
If you want a plastic lamp shade for task lighting, then you'd want to block the light from going out from the sides and top. Instead, you want it to be redirected downwards. To achieve this, you'd want a lampshade that is more opaque. A dark-colored plastic on the outside and light-colored on the inside works even better. You'd also want a shape to help you direct the light to the bottom like the coolie, empire, and bell.