Old Fashioned Table Lamps

There is room in every historic house for old fashioned table lamps. Any interior designer will insist that a table lamp or two be placed in every room to reinforce the period design. For this house, early 20th century table lamps are the right style. An emphasis on lighting from the 30's and 40's needs to show up.

Other houses in this historic district use 19th century light fixtures, lamps and lights to carry out the period design themes. Many of them are reproduction table lamps, since the wiring of authentic 19th century lights is too risky. There is a small cottage industry in the area that pulls the old wiring out of old fashioned lamps and retrofits the light with modern electrical workings. These renovated lamps are very pricey, but invaluable to carry out a historic design theme.

Build a scene on a table top. Arrange a small photo or oil painting, a book, and several pieces of pottery or momentos next to an original or reproduction table lamp. Place a painting or wall sculpture nearby, allowing the light to glow on the tabletop arrangement and the wall accessory.

There is only space for one small table in the front room of this house, unless smaller scale furniture replaces what is currently in here. That will be sufficient to get the design juice of one table lamp into this area. At the back of the house in the large bedroom there is room for another table lamp, but instead of sitting on a table, it will be atop a bureau.

Antique Outdoor Lighting Fixtures

Lights for the front porch need to be selected right away. There is a contractor coming soon to replace the broken post that is barely holding up the porch roof. At the same time the threshold will get replaced and any lighting work needs to get done. It would be wonderful to put antique outdoor lighting fixtures on either side of the door.

Right now there is just a bare bulb poking out of the ceiling that covers the porch. The socket is controlled with a very short pull chain. It looks like someone had a lightweight paper shade taped up over the bulb, but that couldn't have lasted long in rainy weather.

Yes - the ideal would be a lantern type fixture placed about two feet from either side of the door. That would set the outdoor fixtures equidistant from the windows on both sides of the door. It would add another bit of symmetry to the front of the house, which is a bit of a hodge podge at the moment.

The best hardware finish would be silver to match with the greys and mauves of the paint and trim. Black outdoor wall lanterns would work, but the frame would have to be delicate, not heavy like the old fashioned garage and barn wall lanterns. This house is small and the outside decoration must be somewhat petite to maintain its cottage-like demeanor.

Wall Sconces for the Hallway

Wall sconces just speak old house. The fact that they just emerge from the wall and glow right there on the spot has long been a source of fascination. Later in life the fact that an electric line is hidden in the wall framing became more apparent, but as a child, sconces were a never-ending mystery.

Which is one reason why mounted sconces with a cord hanging down to an outlet are anathema. It just seems so messy and even trashy. So that half-hearted method of getting lights up off of floor and table surfaces just isn't going to work here.

Instead, spending the money to have a contractor fish through the electric line seems worthwhile. The hallway is a place that really could use two pretty wall sconces. The hall is short, wide and almost like a room unto itself. There are four doors and a wide entrance to the space, so there really is no room for any other type of lighting fixture.

There is a lot of traffic through the hallway, what with doors into the bedroom, office, guest room / utility room and bathroom. So the sconces must not extend too far out away from the wall. Tiny little sconces with a pretty old-fashioned flowered shade could be pretty. They wouldn't send out too much illumination, but there is an overhead light socket that can be retrofit to a more powerful ceiling mounted light to brighten up the space when necessary.

What Does Period Lighting Mean?

Evaluating the lighting design efforts for this house so far has been discouraging. There are so many options to bring a bright, airy feeling of lightness to what is now a dark and dismal dump. OK, maybe not that bad. But the overall design is not looked at favorably so far by anyone but me.

In discussions the term 'period lighting' keeps coming up. Generally that means early-American style in many contexts. But that is certainly not an era to be emulated here. Instead, the term is being used loosely in conversations to mean lighting fixtures and accessories contemporary with when the house was built.

Records at the Historical Society show an official date of 1930. So apparently the period lighting scheme in this remodeling effort needs to be the decade of the 1930s for decoration. Add in contemporary lighting with low visual impact to get light into the dark spots where it is definitely needed. Then make sure both the 1930s style and modern lighting match.

What a daunting task. Back to the drawing board. OR - perhaps, let the whole idea of period lighting flitter on by as just the opinion of others who talk a lot but don't have to live hear. An eclectic collection of lighting fixtures, lamps and sconces seems to be more suited to this owner's tastes. Fortunately the Historical Society can't dictate what the interior design looks like, even though they are very persistent in enforcing the exterior look and feel of houses in the historic district.

Antique Kitchen Lighting

The lighting in the kitchen of this fixer-upper is a huge problem. Right now the room has just one bare light bulb poking out of the ceiling. It is turned on with a pull chain that is rather cranky. Pull it in any way but just the right direction and there will be no light at all.

The current situation is certainly an example of antique kitchen lighting, but not in the good sense. A more appropriate description would be: A Hazard.  Or Ugly. The goal is to create a lovely farm kitchen type ambiance with small town early 20th century ambiance. Right now the vision of lovely rays of sun streaming through the window onto a checked tablecloth remains just a vision. The idea that a single light fixture in the middle of the ceiling could provide all the light needed in that room is also nebulous.

The best lighting design is going to include the single kitchen light fixture PLUS light over the very dark corner where the stove is PLUS lighting over the sink. Antique lights aren't going to do this room justice, although keeping with that genre for the ceiling fixture is doable.

There are modern light fixtures that can be combined with the antique look to make a coherent design in the room. Brushed nickel fixtures are one choice. Copper toned or pewter light fixtures would look nice, too. The top priority for that room, right now, is getting light directed where it is most useful for food preparation. That means the cooking area and the counter top have to be illuminated. Under the cupboard lighting may need to happen, but that will mean more electrical design work at the front end.

Old fashioned Lamp Shades

The words that describe old fashioned lamp shades are endearing: bell, curved, drum, curl. Even more attractive are the types of material used.  A lot of linen, heavy tapestry styled fabric that nearly blocked out all the light, paper, glass and metal. There are a lot of older lampshades that are constructed of fabric on fabric, often a flower print layered in pieces over an off white shade of linen.

The embellishments on the old fashioned shades can be quite dramatic. A favorite is the fringed bottom shade. Fringe can be made of braided or rolled threads or have a bric-a-brac look. Many Victorian lamp shades have beaded fringe. Sometimes tiny crystals were worked into the fringe, creating the illusion of light dancing as it reflected off the crystal's facets.

This old house deserves at least one fringed lamp shade when the place gets remodeled and redecorated. It won't be out in the front room. More likely the back guest room where rich linens, many pillows and a day bed will set the tone for comfort.

Another old-fashioned lamp shade will likely be affixed to a floor lamp in the bedroom or office. A pleated lampshade would add texture and dimension in the office to add an accent in a room where the hard lines of a desk and file cabinets can use a little softening.

Victorian Era Lighting

The grand style of the British empire is reflected in Victorian lighting. Rich, deep colors and lush textiles were used for lampshades. Blown glass globes were the rage for hanging pendant lights. Wall sconces with curlicues and embellishment brought a low light to dark hallways and at entrances.

None of those Victorian qualities seem to apply to what would look good in this house. Except, perhaps, in the back room. That room is a catch-all right now, but once a screen goes up to enclose the washer, dryer and hot water heater, the intent is to turn the rest of it into a small guest room. A Victorian style day bed will certainly fit, as long as it is one of the more streamlined, not the big bulky carved wood styles.

That room has a higher ceiling, or more precisely, a lower floor than the rest of the house. There is sufficient clearance that a hanging pendant light could be placed in one corner with a switch nearby the bed so it could be used for reading.

There is room for even more Victorian lamps. One near the screened off utility area could be a floor lamp with a fringed lampshade. A table lamp, set on a small lace tablecloth covered side table would work well in that room, too.

Art Deco Ceiling Fixtures

The art deco light fixtures appropriate to this house are either ceiling fixtures or floor lamps. The style seems more appropriate than others because the house was in its heyday in the 1930s to 1940s.

A prominent community member and city official lived here then. As a single guy, he would have rarely entertained on a large scale and the house is small. It is entirely possible he kept the house in some state of then-modern style. Because of the nature of his work, it is likely he did have drop-in guests who would have appreciated a basic, modern decor.

While art deco ceiling fixtures are an option there is only one in storage right now, ready to be installed when the electric system is upgraded. The light is a actually a ceiling fixture that is attached with a brass ring. The ring is screwed into the ceiling around a light bulb socket. The glass shade, shaped like a globe with the bottom flattened is slipped into the ring and held in place with tiny brass screws that grip the shade's rim.

This light fixture would not have been appropriate to the former house resident who was a single man. It has painted on it several ladies bedecked in art deco period fashion attending to their bathroom ablutions. No, nothing creepy, just putting on their makeup and dabbing their necks with a wet cloth. But the style is more appropriate for a single woman's house.

The glass light shade is outlined with a light shadow of emerald green. It looks like an airbrushed border, but that technology was not available back when the fixture was made, probably in the late '30s or early 40's. The women painted on the glass are wearing deep salmon pink colored dresses. That would match the planned colors of the remodeled bathroom. Green and pink in art deco style -- yes, that is a good path to pursue.

Antique Brass Lighting

Today the thought that antique brass lighting suits the front room will not go away. The issue is that there are no good places to attach the fixtures on the walls. For some reason, wall sconces are the first that come to mind when considering brass, especially of the antique type.

There is a place to put a brass light fixture on the ceiling. It would need to have a low profile. The ceiling is low--barely 7 ft. high, if that. So the light has to set tight to the ceiling. It can't hang down more than 4 to 5 inches. Otherwise it will get knocked by someone stretching or accidentally bumping it if they move any way other than walking in a straight line.

This front room is best lighted with floor lamps. Right now there are three of them in the room. One floor lamp is in a dark corner near a window. As long as it's daylight, or when only one person is in the house, that light is rarely on. But it does brighten a dark corner when the full large room needs more illumination.

The other two floor lights in the front room are near the desk (yes, there is a desk in the front room) and near one end of the large couch. In between is the big easy chair which is nicely lit from these two lights. It's a perfect set up for kicking back to read.

All three of the lights are cheap floor lamps and won't last for too much longer. One of them with a 3-way switch won't stay on when it is at the lowest setting. These lamps can be replaced with antique brass lighting which will look fantastic with the new cherry wood laminate floors and chocolate pink walls.

Hanging Ceiling Light Fixtures

There is little more old-fashioned than a light hanging on a chain. Especially when it is in the corner of a bathroom. In the bedroom a hanging ceiling light fixture is even more special if it is shaped like a cluster of grapes.

The disadvantages of this type of light are that they collect dust, the chain collects dust, and the hooks to hold the chain has to be very, very secure. The advantage is that the light source in a room is suspended. Light can pour into a room without a fixture taking up space like a table lamp or a floor light does.

More modern hanging light fixtures can blend into the surrounding period decor. Choose something that is rounded or has organic lines and curves. Avoid lights that have angular planes, unless one is going for the Art Deco look.

Check in local electric supply stores for a wider selection of hanging lights than one finds in the big box retailers' lighting departments. Local and family-owned lighting stores also have access to extensive catalogs of fixtures that can be ordered from the lighting manufacturers. In general, fixtures from American manufacturers are typically more suited to decorating an old-fashioned American home.

How Old fashioned is a Lava Lamp

It seems crazy to want a lava lamp as part of the decoration in a early 20th century house, but there it is. A cry from the wilderness of the 1960s. Shaped like a weird aerospace ship and filled with liquid and blobs of some weird waxy substance, the lava lite defies all definition of good taste.

Knowing a little about the tenants who were in this old house in the 1960's, putting a lava lamp on a corner table somewhere might actually be an honor to its history. During an unexpected visit from someone who lived here as a teenager in the 1960's it is confirmed that the house really needed that kind of jazzy light fixture. Evidently times were hard, real hard in this little corner of town during those years. A happy, unbiased, crazy pillar of light and wax would have certainly cheered up the atmosphere.

How to fit that particular device into the overall lighting design is going to be a challenge. Here's a thought. Don't include it in the design at all. Instead, consider the lava lamp as a sort of tchotchke that just sits there looking great as it bubbles and shines. Perhaps it should go in the back office, though. It could be hard to explain to guests how it fits in. What a distraction.

Overwhelmed: Lighting Design Needed

A visit to the big orange home store's lighting department can be overwhelming. There are so many lighting fixtures on display. Brushed nickel, mint glass, hanging lights, wall sconces, ceiling mounted... the selection is astounding.

So it's time to rethink the approach... and none too soon. The approach to any lighting decisions in this house can only be successful with a return to basics.

Here is the plan for lighting design:

1. Determine the use in each room. For example, in the bathroom the lighting will be for putting on makeup, provide light in a room without any windows and provide overall light for functions such as bathing and showering.  In the bedroom a combination of ambient lighting, targeted lighting for reading and attention to the locations where the each activity will occur is important. 
2. Evaluate the electrical supply that can be dedicated to illuminating lighting fixtures. The electric system is scheduled for an upgrade as soon as the funds are secured. It's probably better to hold off on full lighting design until the entire system is reworked.
3. Before making any final decisions, bring one or two or half a dozen friends in to do a full evaluation. One may suggest under cabinet lighting in the kitchen while another thinks the addition of a light over the sink and one over the stove is sufficient. By the time their suggestions come rolling in, there will exist a better idea how much the electric system can handle.

 In the meantime, a good approach is to set up a file to gather ideas. Cut out and save pictures, not just of fixtures, but of lighting profiles that are appealing.

Retro Chandeliers

A deep, dark secret is that chandeliers must be the most wonderful lighting fixture ever. At least to this owner of a fixer-upper old house. An earlier property with a high cathedral ceiling would have been the perfect place to install a very subtle, modern chandelier. But not here. This place doesn't have even 8-ft high ceilings -- more like 7 foot.

Is it possible that there is a type of fixture that could be a faux chandelier? Something that gives the impression of being grand and beautiful--and maybe even sparkly--while still having a low profile. Yes, those are almost opposites. But think about it. The fixture would hang just a few inches from the ceiling. The "arms" of the fixture could be at graduated levels and very symmetrical. Then the light bulbs themselves would be tiny and sparkly.

That goes on the list of things to find. A retro chandelier that will actually fit in a room with low ceilings. While the quest could take a long, long time, it would be worth it to find the perfect piece. Perhaps it makes sense to look at Scandanavian lighting or other European hanging lamps.

Vintage Style Lighting

Vintage style lighting will go a long way in restoring this old house. One suitable look might be the darker toned wood mirror frames and cabinetry.

Except in the bathroom, where there are no windows. It is in the middle of the house, vented by a meager fan, which of course will also be replaced with a more robust exhaust system.

Another approach would be to modernize the bathroom completely with bright colors, slick chrome fixtures and contemporary lighting. Make the room an oasis in the middle of more period appropriate interior decoration in the surrounding rooms.

Then there is the combination approach. If enough lighting can be focused in the room, it is possible to create a hybrid look. Sleek fixtures, a modern surround bathtub and shower and light colored cupboards would work. Then accessorize with vintage style lighting and a mirror that has the best features of both styles. Add in a small basket, fluffy linens and a tall table lamp could do the trick.

Draw a few elevations of the design. Go to the big box home store and get better ideas. That is the plan. Many, many ideas need to be visited before this plan is ready for review.

Antique Bathroom Lighting

It is highly debatable whether there is antique bathroom lighting in this old house, or if it is just plain old. It's quite possible that there once was a lovely bathroom light fixture over a mirror. Perhaps there was even a separate ceiling light that was turned on by a push button wall switch.

More likely, the bathroom lighting was minimal to match the house design. Very simple lines and basic, solid building material are the hallmarks of this fixer-upper.

It is clear that whatever lighting fixtures were in the bathroom are long gone. The ugly, bare round halogen bulb and the warming lamp in the rickety old bathroom fan are certainly relics of a more recent upgrade. Investment property owners who buy this type of house just to rent out are not known for antique bathroom lighting maintenance. Instead, this type of landlord is more likely to rip them out and replace with creepy plain low maintenance fixtures.

Mission ahead: find two antique reproduction light fixtures for the bathroom. One will be for over a mirror and the other light will be attached to the ceiling.

An Ode to Kitschy Table Lamps

While many old-fashioned table lamps make a design statement of grace and beauty, some are just too gaudy for words. Pure kitsch is a tough style to work into a livable space. An odd shaped, strange colored lamp may make a great conversation starter the sight of it can wear on the nerves quickly.

Star shaped lamp bases, bright orange ceramics speckled with yellow and green blobs, funky clear glass lights with sand dollars and shells inside -- these are not very attractive in the long term. Retro lamps from an earlier era can be a little more pleasing. Organic shapes with light coming out of incongruous spots have a special place in designer hell.

Everything old is new again is an adage that rings true with old fashioned lighting. A straight metal rod base with a simple round shade on top may be completely acceptable in a house being remodeled to reflect the 1930s, like this place. But in the 70's when there must have been avocado appliances in the kitchen and golden accessories galore, that type of table lamp would have been set out in the dump.

There has to be at least one kitschy table lamp in this house. For some reason, though, it's likely it will be placed out in the furthest back room where the bicycle and lawnmower reside.