Finding Deals on Lighting

First I should say, this is NOT a sponsored post. It’s not my goal to get you to buy this lamp. It’s my goal for you to consider that you can find good home decor on Amazon, for a steal in many cases, if you can narrow your search enough.

When I’m shopping for a lamps I normally look at Target, Pottery Barn or Ballard Designs. The last place I think to look is Amazon. To my surprise, I found tons of retailers with brick and mortar stores selling home decor on Amazon. Amazon is making it easier with their new “like or dislike for instant recommendations”. See how it works below.

Most homes or apartments can ALWAYS use more lighting, but lighting can be pricey. A single lamp can be hundreds of dollars. I found a great lamp on Amazon for $32.50 from Ashley Furniture!

How To Choose A Lamp

Before shopping for lamps it’s important to narrow down what you want. I use these five criteria.

1.) Light Bulb Size – I only buy lamps that accommodate a 100 watt bulb. Anything lower than that doesn’t provide enough light to be worth plugging in. Be sure to check the lamp because they have to state what size bulb they are meant to work with, you can’t just plug a 100 watt bulb into any lamp.

2.) Type of Shade – I prefer the way fabric shades look and how they filter the light. Shades can be expensive. I only buy lamps that include a shade, preferably white or off white. It can be hard to purchase a shade that is the right shape and size for the lamp if you purchase them separately. Shades that connect to the bulb instead of attaching to the harp are no good.

3.) Style – The style of lighting should complement your home. If your home is modern, get lamps that go with that style. My stuff is pretty “transitional” if I had to put a name on it. That means a mix of traditional and modern. When I shop for a lamp, I look for something that has simple clean lines so it can go with anything.

4.) Size – I prefer larger lamps. A lamp must be at least 27 inches tall. Anything smaller for the living room looks mini because I have ten foot ceilings. Size can vary depending on where the lamp is going. A desk lamp used for specific tasks is often smaller.

5.) Finish – Lamps can be glass, wood (painted or stained), metal or porcelain. It looks more styled to choose a lamp that is a contrasting material to what the lamp is sitting on. For example, don’t put a brown wood lamp on a brown wood table. It looks better to have a porcelain or metal lamp on a wood surface.

Here is the lamp I found. I found two of them for $65 and free shipping.

You can see in the background another similar lamp that I already had. This is a close match style-wise.

Amazon’s Like or Dislike Filter

The reason that Amazon sucks for buying home decor is because they have no way to narrow your search. Other niche websites have filters that change when you select a product category. (Does it sound like I shop too much online? )

For example, if I go to Wayfair, the king of filters, and search for lamps I can narrow my search by color, size, finish, style, etc.

You find better products on Amazon if you are very specific when you search. For example, I searched for “traditional black table lamp with shade”.

When you click on a lamp you like, there is now game-show style grid. See an example below. It takes the lamp you selected and shows you 10 lamps each with thumbs up or thumbs down. Every time you click the thumbs up or thumbs down it flips the selections to be closer to what you like.

This new like or dislike tool tells me the masterminds at Amazon are working on improving the search experience.

Buying home decor on Amazon is getting easier and better. I have a love hate relationship with Amazon. I love free shipping, low prices and fast delivery. I hate searching for products because Amazon doesn’t make it easy.

Do you have your own Amazon home decor finds?