The lamp was packaged well upon arrival. I love the lamp and it looks great in our living room. The only issue I have with the lamp is that it is very difficult to get the lamp to sit straight on the base. The lamp is such that you should be able to move/swing the lamp, however, when you move the lamp the pole from the base becomes crooked very easily. This is terrible for a perfectionist! We were finally able to adjust the lamp to keep this from happening by tightening the pole to the base as much as possible, but it definitely took some effort! Otherwise this is a great lamp. The shade is a linen shade and really looks great.