Chandeliers are meant to illuminate large spaces with indirect light compared to accent or task lighting, which usually only provides directional light. In our opinion, chandeliers with lamp shades provide a beautiful, diffused look that creates an elegant, yet soft appearance. Also, to be honest, most of the time we don’t want to look directly at a lightbulb and a shade can provide, well shade – and a more filtered light look.
When we were sourcing a fixture for our dining room and our home office renovation, we knew we wanted to look at chandeliers with lamp shades. However, the choice to choose chandeliers with shades or no shades is entirely personal preference and can change depending on the space.