Extreme Makeover: Lamp Edition ...

You may or may not know the story of the $5 lamp.

Here's the short version:

I bought a lamp. It cost $5.

Now you're up to speed.

It needs a new shade. Because the old shade is broken. But more importantly, because the old shade is ugly.

The selection of lampshades at most stores bores me. So I've been poking around online.

Of course, when shopping for a lampshade, it's really best to be able to dress the base with the shade, to be able to stand back and make sure the scale is proper and the effect is whole.

No can do on the Internets, eh?

Well, really, you kind of can.

Note: I did not spend a lot of time on the following endeavor.

I used the picture of the lamp from the Craigslist posting. It's not great, but it sufficed.

And I pulled over images of shades from a lampshade site to get vague ideas how they'll look with the base.

I did not bother to do cutouts of the shades, hence the white space around them (because the site from whence they came had a white background, too).

And I did not worry precisely about scale, so as you look at them, don't think, "Oh, that's too big" or "That's too small." I'll make sure I order a shade that's proportionate to the base. And pay no attention to the wall color in the picture. I haven't decided where this lamp will live, so I'm not considering the color of a room in my decision. (The base, by the way, is simple black. The photo is a bit fuzzy on that front.)

This is an exercise in aesthetics. Which shade do you like best with the base? I'll number each entry. Please to be sharing your thoughts in the comments.

Will I buy the shade that earns the most votes? Not necessarily. But I'd like everyone's opinion.

(And if you're wondering, yes, I have a clear favorite.)

1. Grey Velvet Stripe


2. Faux Leather


3. Butterscotch Stripe


4. Olive Sage Stripe


5. CrissCross


6. Swirls


7. Heather Vertical