Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Looking for some lighting advice
I have some lighting issues. When I installed the new light shades, I never anticipated how dark this would make the dining room. I really like them and don't want to change them but need more light in the dining room. There is a pretty simple solution: in keeping with traditional lighting in other bungalows, I could add exposed bulb fixtures for ambient lighting at the intersections of all of the beams in the room. The folks over at Laurelhurst did this in their bungalow with new fixtures to great effect. 
For the past several days, the folks at Rejuvenation have been diligently trying to help me out in this respect. Unfortunately, the only thing we can come up with is a variation of their Kellogg fixture. It would be nice but my concern is that since my beam ceiling is relatively small, the fixtures would seem quite large. The Kellogg would completely cover the intersection of the beams.
What I was hoping for was something more modest, that would sit within the intersection. A new brass fixture with a maximum diameter of 3 3/4" would be ideal. The Kellogg is a 4 1/2" diameter fixture. The issue is that most modern manufacturers create fixtures sized for standard electrical boxes. Smaller boxes are made but not smaller fixtures. At least that's what I have found so far.
Does anyone out there know of any additional period lighting resources that may help. I've looked at all of the usual suspects: Brass Light Gallery, Schoolhouse Electric and Rejuvenation and have found the same at all places. I'd appreciate any leads you might have.
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8 comments:
What about adding wall scones.
I had exactly the same problem! When I received my lights, we found they were 7/8ths of an inch bigger than what the catalog and website said. And they had no other options. So, we ended up installing them and calling it good enough. I think they look OK. Really, when they're on, you can't really see the beam and you can barely tell that the bulbs are CFLs.
(I've never posted links before; we'll see how this works.) I've posted a photo for you.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9KnLF_vrpk2kYWWVXbr9lU-l5Io7OzHNNjnlGVeMMCE?feat=directlink
We have the same dining room ceiling and I was about to purchase the same light from Rejuvenation. However, I have the four original very small, almost flower-like lights as well. The only place I have seen similar ones is at a house demolition sale (tragically), but you might want to check out Architectural Artifacts on Ravenswood in Chicago or Jan's Antiques in the West Loop. Jan will call you if what you are looking for comes into her store. She is also more affordable.
Good luck - great blog!
Kate
Thanks all for the advice. I have been told by a couple other architects that I really should go with an older fixture because all of the new ones will be too large for the space. I tend to agree and will hold the Rejuvenation fixture in my back pocket if I get antsy.
Rejuvenation offers beam light canopies on a small number of fixtures. You can see one of them in-line with a fixture called the "Richmond". Not sure how many people in the store even know about it. It has a 3" by 3" square canopy with round slotted wood screws for attachment. It will not fit standard junction boxes and you might have a hard time getting an electrician to install one. Original sets often come up on ebay and they'd be less than 4 Rejuvenation fixtures but you'd probably wait a long time. I work in the antique lighting business and I haven't had a set for more than a year. If I find a set I will let you know!
Thanks for the heads up Chris. It appears that the Richmond is no longer for sale - I will e-mail the person I've been corresponding with over there anyway. I am also leaving my name with a couple local dealers in case anything comes along.
if you are still updating with new lighting ideas, I'd be curious to know if you found a good source for either antique lighting or classic design in modern fixtures. I am at the other end of the problem spectrum. We are building a bungalow - it's new but we are trying to replicate a lot of the things that make bungalows so appealing. Getting to the stages where lighting is needing to be addressed and I find it a challenge. I really like Schoolhouse, but we are using sconces in many areas, and I'm still looking in that regard. Best, Jamie
Jamie, we ended up going with Rejuvenation for the new fixtures. I think that if you scroll through a bit after this post you will see them. We never found the small fixtures we wanted. About half of the stuff at the house is antique fixtures and the other half are Rejuvenation. My only critique is that Rejuvenation has such a distinct look that you can immediately spot them as reproduction. I tried to do things to the fixtures (design-wise_ so they didn't look as typical as their catalog fixtures. Hope this helps and good luck with your project.
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