Lighting

This whole project is a dream come true and I'm enjoying every minute of it, but I especially enjoy thinking about the finishes like colors, appliances, woodwork and lights, the stuff you will see when it's done. After all, when it's done, nobody is going to say "nice looking insulation", or "awesome septic field". It's the finishes that will make the project come alive. I spent a solid 18 months now (not counting the 30 years dreaming about it) figuring out what is right to keep and what to save, and what is right for each space, to make everything seem like it belongs. Lighting will be a big part of the character of the house (as was the lack of lighting before now), and since the only lighting we ever had was kerosene lamps and flashlights, modern bright lighting doesn't seem right. Buying restored old fixtures doesn't seem right to me either, since there is no history in the house of electric fixtures, and also I find most old fixtures kinda ugly anyway. Throughout my career I have been restoring buildings as well as designing new ones, but the greatest challenge and the most fun is to add to heritage buildings in a way that doesn't blur the lines between old and new and at the same time respecting the original design. A "trick" you could call it that works for me is to design the new based on older architecture than the original. It somehow makes the whole composition fresh. So the lighting as well as other details of the additions are based on Colonial precedents, a period up to a century older than the original house. After a year searching the web, I found a company in Vermont called Authentic Designs, that hand makes brass light fixtures based on 19th century lighting design. The lights come in various specified finishes and all will be in a patinated copper finish.

But for the exterior, I was directed to a Canadian company called Snoc that makes durable bronze lights suitable for Maritime weather. Below is the carriage lamp light that will be used on the exterior at all of the doors.

 

The old Parlour will be the new dining room, so the light below, from Vermont, will hang in the center of the ceiling. 

The fixture below will hang from the center of the open ceiling in the kitchen. It will have the copper finish and 8 candles instead of 6.

The new Parlour, which was the old main floor bedroom and hall, will retain the mantle on the middle of the north wall. Above will be two sconces, seen below.  I chose it because of the hurricane globes, like the kerosene lamps, and will have a soft glow. All lights by the way will be on dimmers.

The north wall of the new Back Hall, which connects from the back door of the Kitchen to the basement down a set of stairs, will be lined with three of the fixtures below. The hall will also have three skylights, so the space will be bathed in natural light through the day, and have a soft lamp glow at night.

I am cognizant that good lighting is essential at stairs, and the best place for that is at your feet, so the back stair gets four of the fixtures below and the main stair to the second floor will get three. They are about 3 1/2 inches across, and will be placed about a foot above the stairs, like theatre lights, to illuminate the stairs in the dark.

The following fixture will go in the main floor Bathroom, one on each side of the mirror over the vanity.

The light below is called a Moravian Star. The house will have three. One will hang over the stair to the second floor, one over the stair from the back porch to the basement, and the last will hang in the Wine Cellar under the front porch.

A modern and subtle touch will be the can lights. Almost every wall surface will be washed with cans on dimmers. The total effect will be plenty of light, but low and warm with the option of being bright where needed.

The final lighting type will be inside the old built in China cabinet. The sides will be lined with ropes of LED lighting, seen below. They make no heat, and go on like a thin strip of Scotch tape. The china cabinet in itself will become a light fixture. The new upper cabinets in the kitchen will also have glass doors with matching lighting inside, and underneath to illuminate the Kitchen counter.

That's it for lighting. There is a lot that needs to happen before the fixtures go in, but knowing now what they will be informs every step of the project. After all, wiring can begin anytime.