Searching for your perfect tiffany lamp can bring you into a world of unique and elegant styles. Tiffany Style lamps are so varied and different that it helps to know and understand ahead of time some of the challenges and decisions you may encounter. Shades of Tiffany can be as different and unique as each lamp itself.

Mr. Tiffany took bits of pieces of glass from his famous stained glass windows and teamed up with Thomas Edison to make them into the first electrical lamps. This cooperative venture would set him apart from all the others manufacturing lamps for years to come. He made all different kinds of lamps from desk lamps, to floor lamps, chandeliers, and any other type of lamp that can be imagined. The lamps themselves have been around since the 1800’s.

His lamp shades, in particular, were reflective of the nature in which he derived his inspiration from. He used plants, flowers, and insects, most notably the infamous dragonfly. He tried to recreate the colors, the look and the feel of what he saw around him. As a result, he used his creative ingenuity to distinguish his work from all the others by trying to create the visual reality in glass of what he saw in nature. Not limiting himself to flat or plain shades but gave each a sense of dimension and character.

Most Tiffany Shades can be categorized into seven different types. The Flowered Globe and Favrile, Transition to Flowers, Flowered Cone, Irregular Upper Border, Irregular Lower Border and the Geometric. The term Favrile is a term Tiffany used meaning "hand made" and trademarked the term in 1894. He used it to refer to most of his glass, enamel and ceramic work. Although there are seven types of shades, the most common and the most popular are the Transition to Flowers and the Irregular Lower Border shades.

TRANSITION TO FLOWER SHADES

The transition to flower lamp shade begins by using at the top insects, seeming non coordinated colors, or other nature impressions and transitions them to flowers at the bottom of the shade. Apparently these types of lamps were easy to make and Mr. Tiffany manufactured a lot of them giving rise to their popularity. Also contributing to the popularity of these shades was the fact that no two were alike. Each lamp and shade was hand made, one of a kind.

IRREGULAR LOWER BORDER SHADES

As the term suggests, these shades are irregular at the bottom edge by using different sizes of glass, different widths, heights, and lengths. He also uses different colors to reproduce the bottoms of trees and branches making them appear as leaves, petals or flowers. These types of shades are the most beautiful and in the highest demand among collectors. It is uncommon to find and original Tiffany Lamp shade, they are the most elegant and highly sought after by collectors.

In conclusion, whatever type of Tiffany Style Lamp you are considering, try to look at several and notice the design of the shade and how it fits into the décor that you are working with. Many of the designs are varied from simple to complex adding character, grace, and style to any décor.