Lets Talk About Lighting

Our new house has reached the point in the renovation process where I need to order lights. 45 new lights to be exact. That number is both overwhelming and inherently expensive. And, of course, I complicated the selection process because I want our new home’s lighting to be cohesive with a nod toward the 1930s era of the home and, importantly, budget conscious. Here are the lighting decisions I have managed to make thus far (with a lot of support from Mallory) along with a little house update.

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The house has a new roof, new gutters, and new HVAC system. The rough plumbing is done and plumbing fixtures are ordered; the loadbearing post in the kitchen is gone replaced with some seriously heavy steel beams; most of the framing is complete and the family room floor has been raised; the overhead lighting plan is done; and appliances are supposedly arriving at the end of the month. Not.holding.my.breath.

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So back to lighting… To maintain a cohesive lighting scheme, I tried to stick to black, white, and brass. With a low entry ceiling, I needed a lighting fixture without much depth. The Rejuvenation’s Halsey fixture (and on sale!) (1) fit the bill along with the fixtures from Kate Spade’s collaboration with Visual Comfort, which I purchased at a discount from 1-800Lighting. The Savoy House Glenn Wall Sconce (3) is going above a kitchen window and the new bookcases in the family room. These sconces are a less expensive, but similar, alternative to the lovely Serena & Lily Claremont Sconces. In love with this CB2 light (4) that we bought for our owner’s suite closet! We picked Rejuvenation pendants (5) for over the new kitchen island. Did you know that picture lights are INCREDIBLY expensive? Me neither but this Amber Interiors option (6) is great deal in comparison. This Restoration Hardware sconce (7) is final sale (read less expensive) and going on the wall of our staircase landing for extra light. For our dining room, I picked up this Pottery Barn Mia Crystal Chandelier (8) for less than $300 during one of their one-day sales. Chris Loves Julia recommended this wall sconce (9) that I found at Lowe’s for our basement fireplace. Lighting fixtures (10) and (11) are competing for placement in Ryan’s office and our future wine cellar. Which should go where? The Savoy House Monroe Wall Sconce are intended for above our living room fireplace. Highly recommend you check out the Savoy House brand – their lighting options are generally a good price point. And, the Robert Abbey Axis 2-Light is going in our laundry room/kitchen pantry, which I found for a good price at Lighting Merchant (no sales tax!).

Bedroom Lighting

For the bedrooms, I decided to use the same Thurman 4″ Flush Mount fixture from Rejuvenation with complementary opal glass shades as a nod to the 1930s milk glass. Emma’s room will have the sold brass fixture because it matches her existing room décor. AND, FYI, Rejuvenation offers a trade discount of 20% which I took full advantage of with the help of our designer. Highly recommend you track down a “tradesperson” who qualifies for the discount.

Bathroom Lighting

We are sticking to chrome lighting fixtures in the upstairs bathrooms with (1) for the guest bathroom, (2) for the kids bathroom, and (3) for the owners’ suite bathroom (really love these from Shades of Light!). The schoolhouse fixtures (4) are going in the main floor and basement powder baths which I found for a great price on Amazon. The Elegant Lighting Mel Wall Sconce (5) are also for the main floor powder bath adjacent to the vanity mirror. They are a much more affordable option than the Thomas O’Brien Bryant Sconce, which I also love.

Outdoor Lighting

We plan to repaint the new house dark gray to match its existing color but with a black front door. So I went with black outdoor lights to coordinate with the front door. Found these Hinkley Lighting Bromley outdoor lanterns in two different sizes for adjacent to the front door and garage for a significantly reduced price at The Lighting Shop. Highly recommend you check them out if you are in the market for new lighting.

Have you recently purchased new lighting for your home? Did you experience the same sticker shock I did? Highly recommend you scour the internet before you purchase. I was shocked how much pricing varied for the same lights across sites with options for free shipping, no sales tax, and first-time customer discounts. And perhaps my EXTENSIVE internet research can provide some inspiration and time savings in your quest for the perfect lighting. Cheers!