TUTORIAL - Tiered Lampshade HACK, so easy!

One night lying in bed I had an absolute revelation! How to make tiered lampshades from the frames I already have - yes! 

The ones I had seen in beautiful designer stores are literally hundreds, actually closer to thousands of dollars, I'm not joking. And its just so simple that it seems too good to be true. 

TUTORIAL - How to make tiered lampshades 

All you need to do, is make a larger lampshade, then a matching or complimentary smaller one, with the fitted ring inverted, then hang them from the same electrical cord. That's it! And you've created something that designer stores are selling for between $800 and $1500 each! 

So there is absolutely no need to get special frames manufactured, you have everything you need already. 

Some considerations 

A few things to consider when making your tiered lampshade would be: 

- what exactly do I mean by 'inverted'? Usually when you make a lampshade you want the washer fitting to be hidden neatly inside the lampshade. So what I mean by 'inverted' is that I want the washer fitting to be poking out the top of the lampshade. You do this on the smaller shade only - see below:

- the larger lampshade doesn't need to be that deep / tall as you'll have the extra height of the smaller one inside. Where the two washer fittings meet you'll want to work out the height of each lampshade so that the dimensions look great. On this combination below the larger lampshade is 40cm diameter, 23cm in height, and the smaller shade is 20cm diameter and 21cm in height

Or for this tiered lampshade below the larger shade is 40cm diameter and 18cm in height, and the smaller shade is 20cm diameter and 17cm in height. So it can be a great way to use up shorter pieces of lampshade paper that you've been saving for the perfect project. 

- you can make tiered lampshades in lots of different size / diameter combinations like 50/40cm, 50/30cm, 50/20cm, 40/30cm, 40/20cm, 30/20cm and all kinds of heights too 

- we noticed our shade above the kitchen table was a bit bright because the bare bulb showed when you are sitting down at the table, by adding a smaller shade inside and some extra height on the smaller shade it has covered the bare bulb and restored the calm. This is also a common problem for a lampshade that sits above a couch / coffee table. 

Need more detailed instructions? 

Need instructions? Watch this video showing you how to make drum lampshades. To make a tiered lampshade, you'll need to make one larger shade and a smaller one with the fitted ring inverted - just remember to invert the fitted ring on the smaller shade. That's it! There's nothing else to it!

Happy lampshade making! 

Love Anna xo