I love these lamps! 27 1/2 inches is a fairly large lamp, but I would always go a little larger than smaller if there is a choice. Looks more generous. I ordered 2 in marine blue, I think, and the colour of these lamps gives my living room a warm glow (despite being a cool colour) at night. The colour, in fact, is darker than what I've already got in this room and lighter than the stripes on the curtains, which will be up soon. I am hopeful that they're exactly what I need to tie the colours together. I was a little concerned that the bases would be off-base, so to speak, as several people complained of that, but mine were perfect. I need to replace the drum shades because my house is more traditional, but I plan to give them to my daughter to enhance the mid-century modern look in her apartment.