Every Tiffany-style shade belongs to one of three families. Dragonfly designs wrap a band of insects around the skirt of the shade. Floral designs cover the shade in flowers, leaves and scrolls. Geometric designs, often called Mission style, use flat panels in a repeating grid. Knowing which family suits your room narrows the choice from everything to three or four lamps.
DRAGONFLY
FLORAL
GEOMETRIC
Dragonfly
The dragonfly is the most recognisable Tiffany motif and the most decorative. The wings are cut from transparent glass and outlined in filigree metal, so when the lamp is lit the border becomes a ring of jewelled light. Above the border the shade is usually a mottled single colour, which keeps the design from becoming busy.
Choose dragonfly if: the lamp is a feature, it will be on in the evenings, and the room is fairly plain. Colour options: Sapphire (deep blue), Sunset (amber and blue), Teal and Green, Scarlet (red) and Blue and Yellow.
Floral
Floral designs are the closest to the original stained glass tradition: hundreds of small pieces, many colours, and a pattern that covers the whole shade. They are softer than dragonfly designs because there is no hard border, and they use more opalescent glass, so they look much the same lit and unlit.
Choose floral if: the lamp sits somewhere you see it all day, you like a lamp that looks like an object, or the room is a country or traditional scheme. Options: Garden Floral (multicolour) and Amber Floral Scroll (cream and honey).
Geometric
Mission-style shades come from the American Arts and Crafts movement rather than from Tiffany Studios, and their appeal is restraint: straight lead lines, flat panels, one or two colours. They are the easiest to place in a modern room and the only Tiffany designs that sit comfortably in an industrial or minimalist scheme.
Choose geometric if: the room is contemporary, the walls are patterned, or you want light more than pattern. Options: Amber Mission and Cream and Amber Mission.
Choosing between them
| Dragonfly | Floral | Geometric | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lit vs unlit | Changes most | Changes least | Changes little |
| Colour count | 2–3 | Many | 1–2 |
| Modern room | Yes, with a plain wall | With care | Yes, anywhere |
| Traditional room | Yes | Yes | Less natural |
| As a pair | Better as one | Pairs well | Pairs well |
| Overhead (pendant/ceiling) | The border is at eye level: very effective | Full pattern from below | Calm, architectural |
Mixing families in one house
You can. Keep each room to one family and let the colour link them: an Amber Mission pendant in the kitchen, an Amber Floral Scroll lamp in the living room and an Amber Mission wall light in the hall share a glass colour without repeating a design. What rarely works is two families on one surface. See wall colours for stained glass for pairing by colour, and glass switched off and on to see every design both ways.
