I have carefully cut pretty flowers from material, lightly coated just the backs with white glue and applied them to a lampshade. That was over 5 years ago and they haven't loosened a bit. Very pretty, especially when lit. I have also hidden small flaws with the use of various trims applied with a hot glue gun. This works well when problem areas are near an edge. Two shades with a more central eyesore I was able to hide beneath lightweight, heart shaped 'charms' using the glue gun. Once I saw a lampshade that was made of cloth and had a crackle finish applied to it. Don't know how that was done, but the results were stunning.

Mitchdezj, thank you. I thought maybe you didn't want me to post here any more, so I'm glad to learn that's not the case. Those shades really are works of art, but I know they're not to everybody's taste. Shees, you can get crystals on eBay. Perhaps in lamp shops too? The lampshade you have is cute, but it isn't quite right -- a bit small/short for your lamp. Did you look at the lampshades on eBay? If you know how to hem a skirt (by hand) then you can sew a lampshade. It's the same kind of stitch. Basically, you wrap the wire frame in a special cloth tape. Then you stretch one panel of lining very tightly across it, pinning it to the tape (generally they're done one panel at a time). Pin points face inward, toward the center of the panel. Then you hand sew it on with stitches about 1/4" long, knotting every 4 stitches or so, and pulling the fabric tightly as you go. Then trim the lining fabric as close to your stitching as you can get, without cutting your stitching. Continue doing that until all panels are covered. The tricky part is not getting stabbed too much on all those pins. Try not to bleed on your shade. lol! I think rubbing alcohol will remove it if you do. First round is your lining fabric, usually white silk. Second round is your decorative fabric(s), quite often also silk, or velvet. (In picking your fabric, hold it up and see how it looks with light shining through it.) Sometimes you want to add a third layer of lace, or pleated nylon, or appliques, or whatever. Then you hot glue on the fringe, then the braid. The job takes a little time and patience. It's a good "in front of the TV" project. Of course, you can make either a modern shade or an antique one the same way. The quicky way is stretch it tight and glue it, one panel at a time.

I agree that the lamp is too white, but not that you should add a colored shade. You appear to need the light there, and a translucent colored shade will darken and color the light, while an opaque one will only let light out the top and bottom. And a colored shade on that lamp will emphasize its stark whiteness. I would also recommend against a taller lamp. When you are sitting on the sofa, the bottom of the shade should be low enough to prevent your seeing the bulb at all, and yours looks to be just about right. I think you could add something with a little pattern, to balance the drama of the painting...like the one in this link... (I have no idea how to get a photo from a website into a post...) Here is a link that might be useful: Lacquer lamp

Squirrel, it is a slight bell shape. The second shade is just one inch longer than the first but it is 2 inches wider at the bottom which may make it look a lot bigger. I might be able to use one of those adjustable harps from Target to raise it 1/2 inch or so. lukkiirish thanks.