Paper lanterns are event decor. You hang them for a wedding, string them across a backyard in July, and take them down on Sunday. Linen lantern lampshades are the ones that stay up.
We stock seven linen shapes right now, 16 to 20 inches wide, $15.50 to $22.40. They are all hand-crafted from the same white-beige linen, which means the only real decision is shape — and shape is mostly a question of how much ceiling you have. Here is what each one is actually good for, with real dimensions, so you can choose by room instead of by photo.
Pick by ceiling height, not by looks
The most common mistake is buying a tall shade for a room that cannot carry it. A shade hanging 20 inches deep under an 8-foot ceiling sits close to eye level and visually cuts the room in half. The rule that holds up: at 8 feet or under, buy wide and shallow. At 9 feet or more — or over a stairwell, an entry, or a corner nobody walks through — you can go tall.
Width matters too, but less. A 16-inch shade reads as a fixture. A 20-inch shade reads as a feature. Neither is wrong, and in a large room the 16-inch can simply disappear.
Wide and shallow, for normal ceilings
Three shapes do the wide-and-shallow job, and the Large Saturn Oval is the one we reach for first — 19 inches across by 10 inches tall, $20.00. It is wide enough to read as deliberate, shallow enough to live under a standard ceiling, and it is the shape we would hang over a dining table, where a little extra depth reads as generous rather than intrusive. The Large UFO Diamond is the widest and flattest in the line at 20 inches across by 8 inches tall, $20.00, and it is the better answer over a kitchen island or in a bedroom with a genuinely low ceiling, because it spreads light sideways instead of dropping into the room. The Large Dome holds a similar profile at 19 by 8 inches, $22.40, with a softer curve that pushes more light downward — better over a work surface than over a room.
Tall and narrow, when you have the height
The Kawaii shape is the outlier: 16 inches wide and 20 inches tall, $16.50. It is the only shade in the line where height is the entire point, and the one shape that genuinely needs the ceiling. Give it a double-height entry, a stairwell, or a corner reading chair, and the depth reads as deliberate. Put it in a standard bedroom and you will duck under it for a year.
The everyday rounds
Three rounder shapes cover ordinary rooms, and two of them share a footprint. The Round Oval and the Bulbous are both 16 by 11 inches, at $15.50 and $16.00 — identical dimensions, different silhouette, so pick on shape alone. The Round Oval is the flatter, calmer of the two and the least expensive shade in the line, which makes it the safe choice for a hallway or a spare bedroom. The Bulbous carries a fuller curve that suits a bedside pendant.
The Round is the true sphere at 16 by 16 inches, $16.50. A sphere is the most forgiving shape in a room with nothing else going on, and the least forgiving in a room that already has a lot of curves.
What linen is for, and what it isn't
None of this makes linen better than paper. Paper lanterns do something linen cannot: they come in every color, they go up in minutes, they cost a few dollars each, and for a 200-guest reception that is exactly the right answer. Linen answers a different question — the fixture you put up once and stop thinking about. It holds its shape, it carries a fabric texture that reads as furniture rather than decoration, and it belongs in a room you live in every day rather than a night you are hosting.
If you want to see the full line side by side, including the sizes not covered here, it lives on the linen fabric lantern lampshades page.
Quick answers
If I only buy one, which shape should it be?
The Large Saturn Oval. At 19 by 10 inches it is the most broadly useful shape in the line — wide enough to read as intentional, shallow enough to work under a standard ceiling, and equally at home over a dining table or in the middle of a living room. If your ceiling is unusually low, step across to the Large UFO Diamond, which hangs two inches shallower.
What size works over a dining table?
The Large Saturn Oval at 19 by 10 inches is the natural fit. The Large UFO Diamond also works and hangs two inches shallower if your ceiling is tight. Center the shade over the table rather than over the room, and hang it so the bottom edge sits well above sightlines across the table.
Are these the same as your paper lanterns?
No. These are linen fabric shades in white beige, built to stay up year-round as a light fixture. Our paper lanterns are event decor — wider color range, lower price, designed to go up and come down.
What is the smallest and largest I can get?
Of the shapes in stock today, the two 16-by-11-inch rounds are the smallest and the Large UFO Diamond at 20 inches across is the widest. The Kawaii is the tallest, at 20 inches of drop.
Where do these ship from?
They are hand-crafted, then inspected and shipped from our Union City, California warehouse.
Paper Lantern Store carries the world's largest selection of paper lanterns, lights, and decor — 24 years of fast shipping from our Union City, California warehouse.
