Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Lighting, Lighting, Lighting

Just say 'no' to the boob light!!!
So here's the dirty little truth about lighting.  Lighting designs change every 7-10 years.  That boob light that you installed in the 90's?  Looks ridiculous now.

The Edison bulbs that we're all so crazy about (and I do love them!)?  By 2025, we'll wonder why we wanted them so much!  And nothing dates a house like out of style lighting.

So when I'm choosing lighting for a house, I try to go with something a bit classic - but with a current style.  Because whatever I pick, it will be out of style in 10 years. (Note:  original, classic lighting can be an exception to this rule....but I rarely get lucky enough to have a house full of classic lighting.  More about that later!).

For this house, I've gone a bit overboard on lighting.  Thanks to the original antique fixture in the foyer, I'm going with brass fixtures for this house.  And I quickly learned that nice brass fixtures tend to be higher priced than other finishes.




















First up?  The kitchen.  I really, really wanted spherical fixture for over the island and the banquette.  I ordered these lovelies from Wayfair, but even though I like the size and shape, the finish seemed a bit cheap, so they got sent back.



That sent me into a tizzy of fixture hunting.  After weeks of online search (what else is there to do in the evening?), I settled on these Hudson Valley Coffey Pendant fixtures that I found through Wayfair.  We have HudsonValley lighting in our own house and I love it.  Very high quality and beautiful style.

For the dining room, I found this beautiful Hinkley fixture.  I love that it combines classic traditional style with a modern flair.





















And for the living room, we have a high ceiling, so I went with this statement fixture from Ballard Designs.  So I did manage to get a spherical fixture!  Just not in the room I started with!

The bathrooms will also have beautiful lighting.  This Hudson River sconce will go in the hall bath.


And the powder room will sport these great sconces, with Edison bulbs (see, I do love them!).



And for the master bedroom, with its high ceilings?  I fell in love with the Pottery Barn chandelier.  It's iron, with brass elements.





But let's not forget vintage fixtures.  We found this really unusual fixture in the house.  I took it to the local Polishing Shop to clean it up.  And it didn't disappoint!  Can you believe how different it looks? Its a small fixture and will go in the vestibule, right inside the front door.  This is a fixture for the ages, after almost 90 years, it's still perfect in the house!

And there will be more, but isn't this a great start?


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4 comments:

  1. I absolutely love the bathroom fixtures. They are so pretty.

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  2. Thanks Stacy! I can't wait to see them installed!

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  3. We own a 1930 Dutch colonial on the shoreline in CT and I am loving this particular project as it reminds me so much of our house. you chose these fixtures so wisely and they will age beautifully as the house has done. Someday we're coming to SoPo and check all these houses out in person! Until then I enjoy your wonderful blog. Thanks for rescuing these houses and giving them another century (or more? fingers crossed!) of useful life.

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    1. So many people have sent me notes that they also have a Dutch colonial!!! What a popular house style in New England! So glad you like the fixtures, I'm hoping they will look as good when we get them in the finished rooms. Until then, fingers crossed :-)

      Thanks for following along on the blog! Laurel

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