I really like the look of this lamp. I got two to put in opposite corners of the living room. I saw similar lamps, but all were at least $100 more than this one, so I took a gamble and ordered them. They arrived very securely packed, which was a concern since I was worried about damage to the shade. Simple assembly - screw the sections of the lamp pole together into the base, secure the gray outer shade, and drop in the white inner shade, which sits on a ledge inside the outer shade. Took all of 5 minutes to put together. The outer shade is a matte, medium gray and the inner shade is matte bright white. Very happy to find a design I really like without having to spend $200 - $300 per floor lamp.