I Spent Way Too Much Money on a Floor Lamp, and Should Have Bought This $60 Gem Instead (It’s 100x Better!)

When I’m online browsing or seeing a brand’s newest home collection, I’m always drawn in by the lamps. Sometimes, they can live rent-free in my head for years — like this Anthropologie table lamp. So, I am pretty picky about the lamps that I allow into my home. Unfortunately, about a year ago, I spent $185 on a floor lamp, which is a big splurge for me — maybe the most I’ve ever paid for a home decor item — and guess what? After a month of use, it stopped working. I believe that the wiring was faulty. I was so annoyed and upset at myself for not remembering a fundamental shopping rule: Just because something is expensive does not mean it’s well-made (especially these days). I hauled it down and put it out for the trash, deliberately sticking a note that said, “DOES NOT WORK” so some home decor treasure-hunting New Yorker didn’t scoop it up.

Basically, I needed a new floor lamp. I tried to go without and relied on the hideous overhead lamp fixtures that my landlord installed — a.k.a. the Big Light, but it made attempting to relax after a long day at work unpleasant. My favorite spot to read on our loveseat was tainted by harsh light. Luckily, I got the opportunity to test something from Lamps Plus and I picked out a relatively budget-friendly floor lamp for $60 that fit my aesthetic, hoping that at least if it broke, I wouldn’t be too disappointed.

I chose the 360 Lighting Dawson Antique Brass Pharmacy Floor Lamp because it was labeled as one of the most popular lamps on Lamps Plus’s website and had 64 reviews with an average of 4.5 stars. That’s pretty good, in my professional opinion.

The lamp is adjustable and can be as short as 33 inches or as tall as 66 inches. The base is 10 inches wide and the boom arm of the lamp is 22 inches long. It also has a 6-foot-long cord. The lamp requires a 60-watt standard-medium bulb, which is not included, and it turns on and off with the rotary-style switch. It comes in Antique Brass or Dark Bronze (I chose Antique Brass).

I went into the unboxing process with a sense of dread after my previous (and only) floor lamp experience. I was pleasantly surprised that it only took me five minutes to assemble the lamp and plug it into the wall. Something that struck me immediately was that the pieces of this lamp felt a little heavy, like some care had gone into the construction of them. My prior lamp felt flimsy, the metal seemed low-quality, and the lamp would sway ominously on its base if I accidentally knocked into it. This lamp feels like it should be more expensive than it is.

Despite being a slightly shorter floor lamp (I set it at its tallest height), it does light the entire corner of my living room. I’m able to read comfortably. And since I live in a one-bedroom apartment, I also think the light helps divide the living room from the kitchen, which is also a bonus. As for the light itself, I just used one of the bulbs I already had, which was a bit too bright, so I will be swapping that out. But overall, after using it for a month, I’m very happy with this lamp and have already gotten a few compliments on it.

Buy: 360 Lighting Dawson Antique Brass Pharmacy Floor Lamp, $59.99