depends on where you are placing it. Do you need a lot of light from it?

a 15" drum shade, white... basic .

is it a focal piece? want it to stand out?

put a funky shade on it, even black Cone style

It is placed on a wall facing the lake and located between a loveseat and a tall window looking out towards the water. It does not need a lot of light. The wall is brick but the rest of the room is painted very light beige with white chair rail. Thanks for your help.

Correction…placed on the floor, not the wall.

This looks odd to me . Shouldn’t the socket be a tad higher up from the base ? It might be easier to find an appropriate sized shade if it was constructed better.

I would measure from the top of the harp to the top of the bouy and see if you could find a shade that was this measurement. Or get the largest shade you could find locally and get a harp to fit. See if this helps the proportions work.

It might be nice to see a full length picture with a shade you have tried.

An Etsy seller hand makes these. She could adjust the trim color to match I'm sure.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1273300777/duzy-diy-handmade-khaki-fabric-with?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_ps-a-home_and_living-lighting-other&utm_custom1=k_Cj0KCQiAtOmsBhCnARIsAGPa5yY9DUAhs8Ju8aLeyfJJ6FI2XkOVWwGXf-CVtLBWwtucjQ4zGhcJnBoaAqYDEALw_wcB_k&utm_content=go_12567673668_122422060951_507253237435_pla-303537836079_c__1273300777_134255034&utm_custom2=12567673668&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtOmsBhCnARIsAGPa5yY9DUAhs8Ju8aLeyfJJ6FI2XkOVWwGXf-CVtLBWwtucjQ4zGhcJnBoaAqYDEALw_wcB

Oh yes! Great idea. Thanks so much!

I don’t know how to change the socket placement to being any higher. This is how it was made when it was created for us. The gentleman who drilled and created it unfortunately died. I believe the closeness is a problem since the drum shades we tried were too low. A white spacer would have been nice to lift the socket a little higher.

It would be a huge challenge to take it to a lamp store due to the weight. It is an actual buoy. I wish there had been a space between the base of socket. Would a 15 inch harp possibly make a difference? I can’t post a picture with any of the shades I tried because they all came down too low and I returned them. The current harp is 10 inches. The buoy is about 59 inches.

great lamp!

there are a lot of general formulas online to get you started, but also trust your eye on what looks good -

https://paxtonhardware.com/blogs/news/choosing-harp-lamp-shades

there are terrific custom lampshade makers on Etsy as Paul reccos- I have used ZZdecor several times https://www.etsy.com/shop/ZZDecor?ref=shop-header-name&listing_id=686415034&from_page=listing

A taller harp would probably help .

What about leave the harp off and put a big round decorative bulb there, no shade, maybe you can get some kind of socket cover for the socket.

That is a great idea. I will search to see if I can find some kind of socket cover. Thanks for the idea.

Try an 8 or 9 inch white glass globe instead of a harp with shade. There is a lot of freedom here, not a single "correct" shade.

Thanks to all. Lots of great ideas.

This is what I ended up using. I haven’t removed the plastic from the linen shade but it is not as tall as the other shade is tried. I also changed the finial to a clear one. Thanks for the help of each of you.

After thinking about it over the next day, plastic will be removed if I decide for certain to keep this shade.

I don’t think the proportions are right . Too short.

Thanks. I guess that means finding a larger harp and a shade with more height.

Be patient ! You’ll get it right !