A pleated lamp shade is a fabric shade folded into regular, pressed creases. The fold comes from dressmaking, where pleats let flat cloth hold a shape. On a shade it does the same work. It gives a soft fabric its structure, and it filters the light into a warm glow, as on our Macara lamp.
What is a pleated lamp shade?
It is a shade whose fabric is folded into a series of parallel creases, set around a frame. The pleats usually run from top to bottom. They can be fine or broad, crisp or soft. A pleated shade can be a straight cylinder, or wider at the base, with the folds fanning out.
What defines it is that the fold is fixed. The fabric is not simply gathered: each crease is pressed and held, so the pattern stays regular around the shade.
Where does the fold come from?
Pleating is much older than the electric lamp. Long before lamp shades, cloth was folded and pressed to give garments shape and volume, and to let a flat textile follow a curve. The shade maker borrows that vocabulary. Knife pleats are all folded in one direction. Box pleats fold toward each other in pairs.
The fold moved to the lamp shade for a practical reason as much as a decorative one. A crease stiffens fabric along its line. A pleated shade holds its form, and the cloth reads as a structure rather than a skin. On Macara, the pleats give the shade its structure; the marble gives the lamp its weight.
How do pleats change the light?
On a flat shade, the cloth is one even surface. On a pleated shade, the fabric turns at every fold, so the light meets it at changing angles. Lit, a pleated shade tends to read as a sequence of vertical lines. On Macara, the off-white pleats filter the light into a soft, warm accent glow, and the weave stays visible.
Compare it with a plain shade. Colonne has a straight cylinder of linen: lit, it turns an even, creamy ivory. Tellur has a woven drum in taupe: the light becomes a low amber. The pleat adds rhythm to the glow; a plain shade gives one calm surface. All three are in our fabric shade table lamps.
| Lamp | Shade | Height × width | Base | Power |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macara | Off-white pleated fabric | 11.2 × 7.5 in | Cream Statuario marble | Plug-in |
| Colonne | Light beige linen cylinder | 9.6 × 5.1 in | Dark brown fluted aluminum | Plug-in |
| Tellur | Taupe woven fabric drum | 12.6 × 9.1 in | Taupe travertine | Plug-in |
Choosing and living with a pleated shade
Keep the base simple
A pleated shade carries a classic note. A plain base keeps it from looking dated. Macara is two simple cylinders: a base of cream Statuario marble, and the pleated shade above it. The grey veining of the marble differs from one base to the next.
Mind the scale
Macara is 11.2 inches tall and 7.5 inches wide, sized as an accent. It suits a shelf, a side table by the sofa, or a narrow nightstand. It is a corded, plug-in lamp: choose a permanent place for it, within reach of an outlet.
Dust the folds
Dust settles in the creases more easily than on a flat shade. Brush the fabric gently, or use a vacuum on low, following the line of the pleats. Dust the marble with a soft, dry cloth.
For the other fabrics, linen, woven and textured, see how a fabric shade shapes the light.
From the collection
- Macara: off-white pleated fabric shade on cream Statuario marble, 11.2 inches tall.
- Colonne: a plain cylinder of light beige linen on fluted aluminum, 9.6 inches tall.
- Tellur: taupe woven drum on taupe travertine, 12.6 inches tall.
Questions
Are pleated lamp shades old-fashioned?
Not by themselves. A pleated shade looks dated when everything around it is ornate. Set on a plain base, in an off-white fabric, it reads as a clean form with texture. On Macara, the pleats sit over a simple cylinder of cream marble, and the lamp stays quiet in a modern room.
How do you clean a pleated lamp shade?
Brush it gently with a soft brush, or use a vacuum on low, working along the folds rather than across them. Do it regularly, since dust collects in the creases. Keep the vacuum light, so the pleats keep their shape. Then dust the base according to its material.
Is the Macara shade made of linen?
Macara has an off-white pleated fabric shade, set in firm vertical pleats, with the weave left visible. Our product page does not describe it as linen, so neither do we. The Bellerives lamp with a linen shade is Colonne: a tall, straight cylinder of light beige linen.
See the pleat next to plain linen and woven drums. Explore the fabric shade table lamps.