Black shade or ivory? Choosing the right drum for hand-formed glass
Every lamp in the collection is offered with a black or an ivory drum shade. It looks like a small decision. In practice it changes how the glass reads more than almost anything else.
Black: the glass becomes the light
A black shade with an opaque lining sends light down and up, not out. The room stays calm and the brightest thing in your eye-line becomes the column itself, lit from above. Colour looks deeper — Amber Root goes towards cognac, Rose Bark towards wine — and texture is thrown into relief.
Choose black when the lamp is a focal object: a console in an entrance hall, a pair framing a dark-painted wall, a restaurant table where you want pools of light rather than an even glow.
Ivory: the lamp becomes the room's light
An ivory shade diffuses light sideways, so the lamp lights the space around it as well as the glass beneath. The column looks paler and more luminous, and the overall effect is softer — closer to daylight than to a spotlight.
Choose ivory when the lamp has a working job: reading light beside a sofa, bedside lighting, a living room that needs warmth after dark.
A simple rule
- Dark or saturated walls — black shade, so the room keeps its depth.
- Pale walls and natural textiles — ivory shade, so the lamp joins the palette.
- Pairs in a hotel or rental — ivory, for usable light and easy replacement.
If you are unsure, send us a photograph or elevation of the space. We are happy to advise before you commit.
