****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
A little smaller than what I imagined but it looks great!I gave a 5 star for the 8871 (12") because I just enjoy the look when I drive up to my house. I wish they were available in 10" - but that's not a big deal. I've got 4 Sea Gull Lamps (all in black) on the front of my house - 2 8871 (12") on an 18' garage door opening and they look perfect, and 2 8870 on the front door - a total of six 8870 (8") on other exterior doors around the house. They're all beautiful, well made lamps - and well packaged for delivery. They are unquestionably made out of aluminum - at least the black finish is. My lamps are outside in central Massachusetts and winter is a 5+ month ordeal. The one at the end of my driveway that gets blasted by snow (in general) and with force by the snow blower, looks essentially the same as it did 5 years ago. The rest also look the same but they're newer (2-3 yr.). There may be an issue with a stainless steel finish but I'd get a stainless steel lamp if that's was my performance expectation. It's a finish, not a core material.I've used Sea Gull lamps for 16 years and have never been disappointed with the quality. My experience is only with the black, but that's been about the lowest maintenance item I've had to deal with in this rather difficult climate. Don't know how the black/aluminum would react to waterfront at Truro on Cape Cod but in 20+ years of going down there, I'd be inclined to get real stainless or synthetic if I needed a lamp. And I'd expect to pay a great deal more.I've had the matching Sea Gull driveway post light (in black matte) for 3 years through very difficult New England winters and it looks like it did when I installed it. I just replaced some big box lights on my garage and entry door with the 8871 and 8870 and I expect that they will perform much like the post lamp. The lamp is made from aluminum and I've found that the black coating can handle anything. I've seen some comments (some from coastal Massachusetts) that complain about the lamp - but they're generally using shiny finishes. I have no experience with those - but I'll be using another 4 on my rear lights with the black matte. They're attractive, easy to install, and in an area that got > 100 inches of snow last year, quite resilient. Note that they do dent easily so handle them with some care when installing. But, once in place, they seem impervious to the weather. I'm using the Walmart LED 60 W bulbs that Consumer Reports recommended - and at ~ $5/bulb, they are reasonable and perfect for this fixture. They are OK for enclosed fixtures and the box indicates that they s/be in enclosed fixtures if exposed to the elements. For 10W, it's a nice 2,700 color and display just as you'd hope in these fixtures..BTW, I have both the 8871 and the 8870 - and the 8871 is perfect but the 8870 is 4" smaller and (for me at least) it was a less impressive lamp at my front door. Still like them but wish they were 10" vs. 8".I bought two of these for a remodel. They look very nice up close, and from a distance. Not the typical brass carriage-style fixture. The bonus for me was that it could take a 100 watt bulb, and it does throw a lot of light, especially with a clear bulb. It's a mystery to me why so many fixtures are top rated at 60 watts when security should dictate more light.The Sea Gull packing box said "improved". I'm not sure what was improved, but the fixture's metal parts are quite thin and lightweight. The seeded glass globe is pretty, but fragile. The lip edge is rough, and made it a bit of a challenge to seat it in the fixture to line up with the little screws. One screw hole in the metal was larger than necessary, so it doesn't really "screw" in to hold the globe. On that fixture, it was particularly difficult to get lined up, and I broke part of of the lip edge because I couldn't get equal holding pressure from all the screws. Oops. I suppose I should see about getting that replaced.One other comment is the the arch piece holds the metal portion so close to the wall mount plate that small fingers are needed to get the decorative screw over the fixture mounting bolt. It should arc just a bit further than it does now.To summarize, it's a very good looking fixture, but don't be surprised by its insubstantial feel.Love this fixture! The only problem is the glass is so thin. First one came broken, second one cracked when loosely tightening the screw.I first saw this light online at Home Depot, and figured I’d look on Amazon first before I bought it. The price was about half on Amazon. It was just what I was looking for and easy to instal. Overall I’m happy with it. Puts out a lot of light. No bugs have got into the glass bulb cover yet (been about 3mos). I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who’s interested.These lights do the job. They Blended more than I had hoped I was looking for a more vibrant color, not so brown. Also the distressed look is really just green spots that they splattered on it from the looks of it. The light seems to tilt downward a little bit and I would like to try to bend it but don't want to risk breaking it. I got them for less than half of the price they are now so I can't really complain and they will do the job for the time being. Actually my daughter just told me I complained a lot in this review hahaDue to the construction of the fixture, you need to have a post which will accept the vertical 'bar' of the fixture. The top of the post needs to be clear of any platform or obstruction which will interfere with the fixture to slide into place properly. Check this, before you purchase.It works
