Retro Renovation » lighting

41 midcentury lighting ideas – post lanterns, lamp posts, wall lanterns and landscaping lights

pam kueber — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:00:31 +0000

HERE IS A REALLY GREAT SURVEY OF VINTAGE OUTDOOR LIGHTING, from my 1961 Progress Lighting catalog. I started with this photo because: Just look at the little umbrella landscape light. It is phenomenal! The careful addition of outdoor lighting can be one of the easiest and relatively cheapest ways to improve the curb appeal of your midcentury ranch house, Cape, colonial or contemporary. At minimum, think: High quality, well maintained wall lanterns adjacent to or above the entry door and garage, and a lamp post either at the front of the driveway or closer to the house next to a walkway heading toward the door. Landscape around the lamp post – this is also a great piece of ‘hardscape’ to launch a decorative fence. Light are “sentinels”. Use them to ultimately draw attention toward your front door…they are tools to make your house say a big, warm “Welcome.”

All of these lamp post styles are “around” — except, as far as know, for the decorative steel one, #3. I did feature a metal post for a mailbox that might be able to be adapted for this use. I also must say, I am not quite sure where to get a post that includes the hanger thingy shown above on all the posts. We had to drill ours in, it was a real hassle. Finally, on this topic – I know where to get a nice, heavy duty custom name-and-number plate to hang on your lamp post. We have one! It is so cool! Will do a post soon. A post post tee hee.

1961 post lanterns. SO COOL. LOVE that guy in the upper right with the house numbers included. Swoonable.

A couple more. The three colonial styles can *pretty much* be found today. See my Lighting Fast & Easy Page. I like the white and gold, so scrumptiously cheesy. Seriously, I really like it!

Oh, and here’s some more. Nice! These lanterns – hmmm, nothing like them available today, I fear. ?

Wall lanterns to match. Hanover (see Fast and Easy Page) make lanterns with the scrolly thingys, like the example at the top. This style goes over the garage, center. You need to make sure you fascia is tall enough. Be careful about scale. In fact, scale is a very Important issue regarding all these lights: You don’t want your lights to be too big, or too dinky. You want them to be just right. One of my biggest pet peeves is the houses today with their gargantuan wall lanterns. Ugh. You want people to see your House. Not your Wall Lantern. These are like jewelry. Agonize over this decision, please.

More outdoor retro lighting. P5970 at the left, middle: You can get this from Rejuvenation – see the Fast & Easy page. Love 5973! Tim Wetzel: Can we have this one, please?

The three colonial style ceiling fixtures on this page – ubiquitous in the 50s and 60s. Everywhere! Easy to find replacements today. But they can be cheap looking. Spend a little extra to get solid heavy construction. It will subconsciously comfort you even though the inexpensive big box store lights look the same. Also: I always see LOTs of outdoor lights at the Re-Store. Tim: We want P5978, too, please – a lovely ‘colonial-modern’ bridge.

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60s style exterior lighting from Hanover

Pam Kueber — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:03:07 +0000

I love the products from Hanover Lighting — the company just seems very down to earth … high quality … decent prices … lots of selection … lots of finishes … lots of sizes to scale to your home … all, without foofy over-top-marketing that means you end up paying too much.

It’s too cold in many parts of the country to think about doing outdoor work. But how about planning for spring/summer and installing outdoor post lighting. These kinds of lantern posts can do A TON to improve your home’s curb appeal. Last summer in my front yard, I added three sections of decorative split rail fencing, a flower bed and two small trees on both sides to anchor the fence, and a lantern post next to it all — and the difference was dramatic. And of course, now we also can flip the switch and light the end of the drive — which makes the house so warm and inviting when people are coming over after dark. This detail is well worth the expense – and very much in keeping with the postwar aesthetic.

I’ve done a previous post on Hanover colonial style lighting. Here are some modern choices, for a change. Most all these groups also offer matching wall lanterns.

Midcentury modern post lantern from Besa Lighting Jennifer gets snaps for sending us this very nice midcentury...
41 midcentury lighting ideas – post lanterns, lamp posts, wall lanterns and landscaping lights HERE IS A REALLY GREAT SURVEY OF VINTAGE OUTDOOR LIGHTING,...
All-new midcentury modern lighting from Rejuvenation When I visited Rejuvenation on Monday, I was treated...

Exterior lighting for your postwar ranch, colonial or Cape house — from Hanover Lantern

Pam Kueber — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:30:37 +0000

Adding the right exterior lighting to your 40s 50s or 60s ranch, Cape or colonial can make all the difference in the world — like the perfect jewelry on a little black dress. I’ve written previously about a few options from Rejuvenation Lighting. But for colonial style lighting similar to what was so very prevalent in the postwar period, I really like the Manor collection from Hanover Lantern.

These are exactly what I put on my brick colonial-ranch. They are especially good because you can get them in small sizes. Today, it seems, so many alternatives promoted are way too oversized, on steroids. But look at a vintage house, and the lighting was smallish, to scale for modest sized, middle class homes. I also like this set because it offers:

A ceiling fixture for above the door that doesn’t drop too far down
A single lantern with ‘curlicue’ scrolls for above the garage (if you have the fascia space)
It’s simple, no florets or swirlies
Complete line available
Custom made in the U.S.A., and of good quality.
BTW you can upcharge for real glass. And, I went for the classic wrought iron black.

Looking at other neighborhood examples, I also see lighting similar to the Salem collection (thumbnail), definitely a colonial revival design, and in particular appropriate for Capes (what do you think, NightingaleJen?).

You have to order these lights from a retailer. But you can get the catalogs from HanoverLantern.com. I’ll be doing some more informational posts about some of their other products soon.

click both images to enlarge

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Retro style porch lighting – from Rejuvenation Lighting, our favorite!

Pam Kueber — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:59:00 +0000

Rejuvenation Lighting offers two styles of porch lighting that could be a good fit for your retro renovation – whether it’s ultramodern or modern-with-that-colonial touch, as many 50s and 60s homes were.My home is of this latter colonial/modern variety and I used exterior lighting that’s similar to Rejuvenation’s black cast iron lantern model shown here, but with flat glass. It’s on my list to track down the other company, which does not have an online presence; I’ll post that soon.

Midcentury modern post lantern from Besa Lighting Jennifer gets snaps for sending us this very nice midcentury...
All-new midcentury modern lighting from Rejuvenation When I visited Rejuvenation on Monday, I was treated...
41 midcentury lighting ideas – post lanterns, lamp posts, wall lanterns and landscaping lights HERE IS A REALLY GREAT SURVEY OF VINTAGE OUTDOOR LIGHTING,...