Weedy, definitely look into old catalogs that will help you understand the 'vernacular' of old lighting. (Some good ones at vintagelights.com.) There aren't that many variations, really -- you have the canopy (part that fits against the ceiling and hides the junction box), the various chains and fittings, the bulb socket, the lamp holder that holds the socket and the lamp fitters which have little screws into which the shade fits (often these are the same piece), and the shades themselves. A pan light ("hubcap") has a very large round or oval canopy to which the chains are attached, and is either against the ceiling for lower ceilings, or has another section of chain between it and the canopy. You can mix and match parts to your heart's content. It's really fun. Shades go by fairly standardized fitter sizes of 2.25", 3.25", 4", 6", etc. Take a gander at this 1923 Montgomery Ward light catalog -- it's got most of the usual suspects from your house style and era. A slip shade ("batwing") fixture is one where the shades slide down into metal fittings that are roughly triangular in shape. These are among the more fancy fixtures starting from about the 1920's. Good ones with intact shades tend to demand fairly high prices, as do reproductions. Slip shade sconces are pretty and hug the wall nicely, although they are definitely a more upscale style. A good source I use for the various adapters, new bulb holders, chain attachment pieces and the like is Grand Brass. Prowl their online catalog for photos of the various parts & pieces, it will be very helpful.

Thank you everyone for your imput. I have really enjoyed reading all of these posts. In 1995 I purchased an eggplant leather couch. I fell in love with the 2" sample and the salesman asked me "are you sure you want that colour"? I said "Yes definetly" But when it came to finding anything that I loved that would go with that, there wasn't anything to pick from. When we moved here, I painted my walls a darker shade of the couch and just a couple of years later, all the accessories you could want, were in style. I stocked up on everything I could possibly get my hands on. Dishes, glasses, carpets, material for drapes (which I have to still sew) etc. That is not the problem because I have all these items. I also have a cobalt blue gas stove which I bought at the same time as the couch. I had to wait till colbalt came in before I could get my cobalt blue irridescent tiles for the backsplash. Now I am planning on painting the bathroom. I know you are supposed to choose a fabric or shower curtain or something and then choose the colour. But I don't know what I want untill I start to paint. I don't plan ahead or rather I can't plan ahead. Right now I only know the colour I am going to use and I know it is not in style and I won't find towels or a bathmat that will cooridinate or be the proper shade to complement.( I wish I could do white, but my DH is a mechanic, white would only be white for the first day and never again). I have a vision of gray to go with it but that colour gray isn't out and I have even been to the mill to buy some other material and checked out the dyes, hoping to find the right one to match. It is not out there or it too has come and gone. The shower curtain I will sew if I can find material that I can live with and love As for the furniture being black, I have wanted black furniture before it was popular as well. It's just that once I paint it black there is no turning back. It doesn't really matter to me whether or not it is trendy, I was just wondering what you thought. Same goes for the black granite. I want that for the kitchen and the bathroom upstairs to go with the black sink, toilet and tub. I also want a black wooden floor for the master bedroom.(I had black carpet in the basement of our other home and really loved it but not for the bedroom) to replace the aqua green which was installed in 1999 before that colour was popular. If only I could wait till it came in style my life would be so much simpler. lol. Although I have actually tried that when I repainted the house and went from eggplant to the very popular shade of grayish-green. I was starting to tire of the colour purple or because it was becoming popular, it doesn't really matter the reason. Deep down, I truly miss my eggplant and I am going to back to my gut feeling and use it again in a grayer version keeping in mind it now has to go with the blue stove and tiles. The slate floor and the pine and oak and black and eggplant accessories. So I guess the answer is exactly that I am SOL. because of the way I do things. Anyway, thanks again everyone Linda

Hi Elle3. Let me try and help you as I'm long distance right now in NY and the apartment is in FL. Thank you btw. The Irish Lace Donegal color is just a hair lighter than BM-34 Wilmington Tan. It's a beautiful tannish color and the tile has some mottling with the edges slightly darker and the center slightly lighter. (Not as much as shows on the Jeffrey Court website.) It's subtle which is what I wanted. Some tiles have such a large swing in color, but this doesn't. The Jeffrey Court tile also has two other colors we considered. One is called Cork and the other is called Tipperary. Both also would have worked. I'd get a sample of all three as the shading is close but slightly different. The Cork has a green cast to it and the Tipperary has more of a taupy beige cast to it. Any of the three would have worked beautifully with the cherry. What finally swayed me is that since my LR/DR/kitchen all open to one another, I wanted a warm tan color in the rest of the apartment. The Donegal was the warmest. I think any of the three would work with the Uba Tuba. Definitely get a sample. Where are you located? I ordered mine locally in SW FL. As for the grout color, I'll have to get back to you when I'm down there as I don't remember what brand or color. I return to FL on Xmas day and it will take me a couple of days to get settled with putting things away, buying what we still need (we started from scratch there as it's our snowbird place), setting up the computer, etc.

My guess on your current fixture is probably from late 60s through mid 70s. My previous house of your era had a couple white with green porcelain fixtures with an exposed bulb and a couple of brass fixtures with exposed bulbs. Those were an upgraded version of the classic keyed lamp holders often found in basements.  This is a rental so wash the light shade until it sparkles and turn the light on. No one will notice the bright brass base or care about it. If I was flipping the house, I would drop the fixture when I painted the ceiling and spray it in place with a dark color, perhaps bronze metallic.  If the fixture had to be replaced, I would choose either a flat LED disc or a small round fixture with white or frosted glass shade and chrome or brushed nickel trim. A single bulb schoolhouse fixture with white glass shade would also work.