Lighting – My Guidelines

I should have given this post a catchy title like “how to choose light fixtures” or the “do’s and dont’s of lighting” but those feel too much like click bait to me. And, truth be told, I simply want to share my personal thoughts and considerations when purchasing a light fixture. I love learning the “why” behind people’s design choices.

Lighting was one of the first things I purchased for our home. There’s almost no recessed lighting in the house and when we first moved in we also didn’t have an overhead light in several rooms. Couple that with a lack of furniture on which to put a lamp (that we also didn’t own) and I was scrambling to buy light fixtures.

But, it’s hard to know what a hardwired light fixture is going to look like until you get it installed. At that point you’re out the cost of the fixture and installation and there’s no returning the fixture. I can’t tell you how many lights I purchased and returned when trying to select one for our foyer; fortunately, I love the one we ultimately installed. But, I’ve definitely made some mistakes (just ordered a replacement fixture for the living room) and have learned a lot in the process.

Things to Consider:

• Exposed bulbs. This is the biggest factor I didn’t consider to begin with and is a major reason I don’t like the light fixture in our living room. I do not like to see a lightbulb in an interior light fixture which means the fixture must have shades, opaque glass, or a design obscuring the bulbs.

• Ceiling Height. This is a more obvious consideration but a limiting factor especially with our not quite nine foot ceilings. Most designers seem to recommend at least seven feet of clearance under a fixture. I will push 6’8” or so. My favorite flushmounts and semi-flushmounts:

  • Leaf Sculptural Pendant: Comes in many sizes and finishes. Adjustable chain.

  • Clark Flushmount: Perhaps my all-time favorite flushmount.

  • Talia Flushmount: This collection is a designer favorite. We used in our bedroom

• Finish. Lighting is expensive. I tried to go the cheaper route to begin with (which is one reason why I returned so many fixtures initially), but I found that the finish on cheaper fixtures looked cheap. Especially in brass. So, I tend to stick with Visual Comfort (and I have a couple Hudson Valley lights too). I find their hand-rubbed antiqued brass finish to be beautiful and the light fixtures feel substantial. I don’t mind investing in lighting because it is unlikely to get damaged by one of our pets (though our cat has been known to knock over a lamp). I also always try to buy it on sale (the recent Memorial Day sale is what sparked the idea for this post).

• Style. Our living room light fixture fails here too. When we first moved in, I thought I’d mix mid-century modern styles with more traditional pieces like a CB2 catalog. I quickly realized that mix isn’t for me. I prefer a more consistent, traditional aesthetic in our house. I also like to think about how fixtures work together; so sticking with one brand makes things easier because it means that the finishes will match.

  
  

This is a bit more niche, but if you’re installing a sconce or picture light, note that some of those fixtures require a smaller outlet box (e.g., this one we used in our kitchen). If you’re renovating, be sure to select your light fixtures before your electrical walk through so you can let your electrician know and they can plan accordingly. I’d also recommend putting all overhead lights on dimmers. If you’re buying to replace an existing fixture, confirm what you already have in place or plan to have to make some changes and then patch drywall or plaster.

A couple other personal preferences, I only use “soft white” bulbs with a preference for 2700k. I will use 3000k in limited situations (e.g, our bathroom has no recessed lighting and all light is filtered in some way due to my aversion to seeing bulbs).

You can find a roundup of almost all of the light fixtures in our house here.

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