Our exterior light situation is a little ho-hum, as evidenced by this tiny fixture outside the back door on our garage (don’t mind the grimy green brick that’s screaming out for some scrubbing).
And yes, I realize the door itself is looking a little rough. It originally sported a rusty, loudly-banging storm door (not just a medium bang, this was SCARE-YOUR-NEIGHBORS LOUD) that we removed. So we’re getting ready to repair some of the trim and prime/paint it white to match the door in the sunroom veranda that we already updated.
But let’s turn our attention back to the light. It was too small and very weather-worn, so we decided it was time to make an upgrade. Choosing the fixture to upgrade it with proved a bit more challenging than we expected. Maybe because we’re not really used to shopping for them. I think we might have bought three exterior lights in the course of seven years. So after hitting up a local outlet and some big box stores without anything screaming “I’m perfect!” at us, Sherry took the hunt to a few online sites to see what she could come up with. After about an hour of clicking around (and waaaay too many windows being open at the same time which led to not one, but two browser crashes) there were eight contenders:
- Black lantern $69 here (inspired by the ones here)
- Seeded glass lantern $75 here
- Outdoor wall lantern $87 here
- X-Lantern $37 here
- Bronze cross-cross sconce $35 here
- Bronze lantern $79 here
- Antique copper wall light $219 here (purely just for eye candy, since it’s way above our budget)
- Bronze lantern $117 here
Making that mood board didn’t give us a eureka moment either. But what did was strolling through the lighting aisle at Home Depot and Lowe’s again, and discovering that Option #1 had gone on sale (down to $59). It had been my favorite all along anyways (Sherry was really into #6, but it was significantly smaller) and my argument for #1 was that we were looking for something large and in charge, and it was the second biggest of the bunch while also being among the three most affordable ones in the roundup. Sherry gave me one of those “hold on I’m thinking” faces and then said “ok, let’s do it.” And into our cart it went.
Installation was just like installing any other fixture:
- Step 1: Turn off the power
- Step 2: Remove the old one after staring at the wires to see how they’re connected (or even grabbing a photo of them with your phone if it’s your first light-switching job)
- Step 3: Connect the new one to the same wires the old one had been connected to
- Step 4: Tuck all of the wires into the backplate and use the provided screws to adhere the light to the house
- Step 5: Turn the power back on and make sure the light is connected well and working correctly
So installation went nice and smoothly, and you can see from this photo that it’s a big improvement. Well, not the door. Or that green wall. But at least the light is no longer rusty and small.
You think I’m joking about the size difference, don’t you? Here’s a side-by-side with the old fixture so you can see just how much more substantial the new fixture is compared to the old one.
We personally like an outdoor fixture that has lots of visual presence, so this guy is doing the trick for us. Just imagine this with a freshly painted door and non-green bricks and a nice welcome mat and some plants on either side. I know… that’s a lot of imagining. We have a long way to go back here.
I like this shot the most, since it helps to show the size of the light, along with the traditional shape, which we think is pretty fitting with the exterior of our house (we’ve admired it on a lot of our neighbor’s homes, and also were inspired by this photo of an outdoor space with similar ones). At one point I suggested that we put them in The Artist Formerly Known As Prince The Veranda Formerly Known As The Sunroom (we’re looking for four sconces to go on the posts in there to provide some eye-level light) but after holding them up they didn’t look right – so we’re still on the hunt for what might work in there.
I’ll share just one more “after” photo of this guy because when I came out to take this picture I opened the door to find a herd of deer standing right outside. Of course they ran away at the sight of me.
But they didn’t go far and still make an appearance in the background of this picture.
Here they are, just giving me the ol’ deer staredown, when I stepped a little closer. If you’re on the edge of your seat for more of my stellar wildlife photography (or are just a fan of Where’s Waldo: Deer Edition) we’ve got this post on Young House Life for your deer-loving pleasure.
Sorry I keep getting sidetracked. Lights. We’re talking about lights. And obviously that back door isn’t our only outdoor fixture. We’ve got one more wall-mounted one above our garage. It was also looking a bit worse-for-wear and was also on the diminutive side.
So we purchased a second one to match the one we added to our backdoor. And… the results were a little less impressive.
Even though it felt nice to have a sparkly new light up there – and the ORB finish commanded a bit more attention than the rusty gold – the size wasn’t reading as much of an improvement between those two giant garage doors (we’ll be painting those black or charcoal if that helps you visualize where things are going). And yes, we have more green stuff to attend to on that concrete driveway pad. Yeehaw, I smell some power-washing in my future…
But back to the light.
It’s not terrible, but it’s not exactly what we were hoping for. It just looks kinda lost on that big brick wall with those big garage doors. And I’ll admit we’re feeling a little defeated because of all of the lights that Sherry mood-boarded, it was among the largest of them all (it’s about 19″ high, and the biggest – and most expensive – was only 20″). Update: We also have a pergola planned for over the double garage and we want to add shutters to all of the windows on the side and back of our house eventually (as seen on Listy McListerson) so those are things to consider for this side of the house too.
Part of us feels like we should just stick with this one for the time being and withhold judgement until we can do some other things to the garage side of the house (like the paint the doors). And the other half of us feels like we should just return it if we don’t love it there, and not settle for something that we might later end up regretting.
What do you guys think? Would you keep it or return it in the hopes of finding something better? Any tips for where else to look besides local lighting shops, Lowe’s, Home Depot, or Overstock?
Jennifer says
Man I love your house. It’s coming along beautifully and with all those fall leaves its a total dream. Just had to share!
Bernadette says
My tact is a little different. Seeing that you don’t have much outside light (do you even have streetlights?), I would suggest, for the meantime, return the fixture and instead get a 2 spotlight auto on dusk/off at sunup security light. I know it won’t be as pretty but can be much cheaper, for the interim, so you get even more light but don’t have to do any wiring right now. The decorative light over the 2 doors on all that brick just does not look right. Then, for the future, I agree on the lights beside each garage door and maybe keep the security light in the center so that you can have a blast of good light whenever you may need it. Also, the doors will look so much better painted black . . . I took all the white trim/doors on my red brick to black and what an improvement!
Favorite place to shop for light fixtures . . . costco and costco.com. Great fixtures and great prices. After that, Lamps Plus, Home Depot and then, last is Lowe’s. Pottery Barn for inside chandeliers but that can be spendy.
Now, last point is lightbulbs. I am an all out fan of not getting any outside fixtures unless there is an LED equivalent bulb for it or it comes with LED built in. You will save so much $$ on not just the elec but also on the longterm bulb costs. Those chandelier bulbs burn out so quickly.
Also, when considering fixtures, consider how you have to change the bulb . . . easy to reach in and change or do you have to take off the entire glass to get to the bulbs. It’s a pet peeve of mine. I have gorgeous very old fixtures on my 1974 house but have to take off the heavy leaded glass globes to get to the bulbs and the set screw is hard to get to so the task is quite a balancing act to make sure I’m not going to drop the glass globe. This is how I learned that those chandelier bulbs don’t last long and are expensive in the long run….replacing them way too often. I have replaced them with LED chandelier bulbs until I can replace the fixtures all around the house.
When considering LED bulbs, pay attention to Lumens. That’s your light output measure. The current LEDS (again, carried by Costco) are an incredible improvement over LED’s from only 2-3 years ago and the price is fantastic.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for all the info & tips guys!
xo
s
Molly says
I love the lights! So fresh :)
Speaking of lights… does your YHL0811 code still work for Shades of Light? Neeeeeed a new light and neeeeed the discount ;)
YoungHouseLove says
I’m not sure! I would just try putting it in to see if it works. Hope it does!
xo
s
Michelle says
I love the new light. It is a much better scale for sure. I had to laugh at your choices. I have #5 on our house that we built 9 yrs ago. They are on the front of the garage and scale wise, it was as big as we could go. Our garage is only wide enough for the headers to put the garage doors. They seriously skimped on garage size on this house.
Michelle says
Ok.. that didn’t come out right. I chuckled when I saw your choices, seeing my outdoor fixtures in there… You have some great choices up there. It caught me funny seeing my lights as one of your options. :)
YoungHouseLove says
I knew what you meant ;)
xo
s
Susan says
I think you should keep the light over the garage for now, and reuse it for the kitchen back door when you’ve figured out what you REALLY love for the garage.
Sherry, have some fun with photoshop and test out how the pergola will look and how it may affect your light placement on the garage. Also, try photoshopping in the shutters on that side of the house. I think shutters will look great on the garage window, but I’m not sure about the window on the end of the house right above the garage roof. The width of the shutters will require clipping off the lower corner of one where it hits the garage roof line and clipping off the upper corner of the other where it hits the house roof line. Maybe that will be fine, but I know for me, all I would see are those clipped corners!!!
Have fun experimenting!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Susan! Good points!
xo
s
Annie says
We changed out our generic builder grade porch light this summer and love the new one. With the LED light, no more changing lightbulbs and it gives off a lot of light, plus it has a sensor to know when it gets dark to turn on! Found at Costco for around $50-75!
Rob says
The light is great over the garage doors but the statement you feel is missing would be solved by adding two more at the sides like sconces. When you put up the planned pergola, bring the current one down into the middle between the doors! I know that means electrical work and more lights, so more cost too. But what do you think?
Anne says
Check out this one.
Jonesport Wall Lantern (Medium) from Best Sellers: Outdoor Style on Gilt: http://gilt.com/m/152077614ampe4l4ypx9/best-of-outdoor/148892989
Alexandra says
I like it! may not be totally perfect, but it is an improvement and it matches the other exterior garage light (by the back door). I say keep it!
Daphne says
Long time reader, first time to comment!
I agree that you need more balance, a light on either side of the garage doors. I also must ask – would you power wash vs using one of those “house wash” pre packaged bottled formulas? We have some mildew on our front entryway and on one side of our house that really needs tending, but runs right into a flower bed. The flower bed is caladiums that are already dormant… Afraid power washing would uproot them, & chemicals would kill them! Forgot to ask at our local mom and pop garden shop today (seriously, open since 1940, & took in some pulled up dead flowers and he looked through them to see what was wrong – fungus! Gotta love that kind of service!) …rambling… Will stop! Just curious as to how you’ll fix this and what you’d recommend. LOVE this blog!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s such a good question! We feel the same way about powerwashing sometimes being damaging to things under it (we hear it’s not great to do to brick all the time either, as it can degrade things) and we also don’t like using chemicals. A few commenters have recommended spraying it down with a bottle of half vinegar and half water (sort of an organic moss/mildew remover) so I’m planning to try that. Hope it works for you too!
xo
s
Elaine says
I like the lamp you chose. But if you want to keep browsing, Lamps Plus’ website offers great deals on open-box items. And not just lamps: furniture, decor and fun garden stuff. See http://www.lampsplusopenbox.com/outdoor+lighting-category/search.htm#.
Nicole Busick says
I like the one by the door, but the garage light should shine down. Maybe one light above each garage? Too much work? Maybe not possible? I don’t know. Love you two. You are the cutest!
Dina Hughs says
This is perfect for my garage! Thanks for the details.
Kimmi says
http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod691007&categoryId=cat1701019
This would be perfect – it was $100 in its heyday! But alas, big sconces sell out quickly!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions and tips! We’ll definitely keep you posted!
xo
s
Monica says
We live in the woods in MN and have no street lights on any of our community’s streets. It can get so dark outside our homes that we need a flashlight to walk the dog and check the mail. Exterior lights are really important. In addition to the individual garage door lights that are mounted lower down on the sides framing the garage doors (below the plane of the top opening of the garage) most homes here have a motion activated light mounted higher up in the same spot as your garage light. (Yes, the deer will trip the light on until they get used to it. But it does deter their nibbling on some close in vegetation). As others pointed out, additional lights lower on the sides, wiring, etc will add to your hassle and cost. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of your new fixture – especially in that spot – even though I like how it looks illuminated in the final shot. Based on your future plans for this area, I would keep things simple and costs down for now. Either keep the original light or use the new for the time being – or try a motion activated light. In the meantime, continue to flesh out your plans for this area.
Not her, the other girl says
This isn’t related to your lighting (although it does look pretty!) but I was wondering if you guys had ever removed grout? I see where you put in grout during your first bathroom demo and in your second house’s kitchen, but I was curious if you had a first hand account of how difficult/annoying/whatever grout removal is.
YoungHouseLove says
We have never done that, but I think if you buy a tool at a tile shop, they sell grout scrapers that hopefully make it less of a pain. I hear you don’t have to remove all of it, just the top layer and you can add some new grout for a fresh look. Lots of luck!
xo
s
JG says
Oscillating Tool helps a lot! With that it goes pretty fast.
Ginnie says
It’s ok… it’s a good phase 1 option. I can see a hanging light under the future pergola. Like one on a curved hanger that is attached to the house that the light hangs from. I can’t recall the name of that style.
haverwench says
If you’re still wondering where else to look for lights, have you checked your local Habitat Restore? (http://www.habitat.org/restores/directory/va) We found one at ours (a fairly simple brass lantern) and paid only *one U.S. dollar* for it, so you might be looking at big savings.
YoungHouseLove says
We found a great light for our half bathroom there! Will have to check if they have outdoor ones!
xo
s
aussiebeachgirl says
Have you checked out Wayfair dot com, in particular the Livex Lighting “Frontenac Outdoor Hanging Lantern” in Black” The listing price was $164.84 and it’s now $99.90 with free shipping. Size = 21″H x 8″W x 8″D. The ones I love are in the very high price bracket, but as far as ok lighting goes, this one may tick some boxes. Cheers, heather (AU)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much!
xo
s
Brooke Fedigan says
Although your fixture pick is fine in a “pinch,” I would keep looking until you find the perfect fixture. Take a look at this site:
http://www.cityknickerbocker.com
City Knickerbocker is a terrific store on the west side of Manhattan, midtown. They mainly sell and trade to “the trade” — Broadway, film, television, but still happily work with common folk like us. I go in their showroom and get lost. I want everything. Their prices are relatively reasonable, and like I said, they’ll work with you.
If you would like, I would be happy to go in and snap some pictures for you for possibilities. No problem. Let me know. But in the meantime, take a look at the website.
Best,
Brooke
Jenn | Near and Far Montana says
I love the look by the door, not so much the giant garage doors. You’re right, it sort of gets lost in their giantness. We’re working on replacing outdoor lights as well and it’s ridiculously hard to chose! But thanks for the ideas! I’m with Sherry, I really do love #6!
Cindy says
I just thought I would mention that our Restore has a great selection of lights that changes all the time. And they can always be painted in the finish of your choosing. Just a thought.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks again for all the tips/ideas guys! You’re a bunch of geniuses.
xo
s
Leslie says
I’d say return the light over the garage. Maybe make a final decision once the pergola goes up.
Looking good!
David says
I finished our outside lights 3 weeks ago, just in time for trick or treating. I struggled with choosing a certain look and then realized that is the least important feature. I could easily rule out certain orientations (up or down) and finishes and there were still an overwhelming number to choose from. With regular bulbs being regulated out of existence, it is important to have a light allowed to use CFL or LED bulbs. My first choice didn’t even allow CFL (despite the standard socket) – I even called customer service to validate this fact. I hate the dead bugs that end up at the bottom of enclosed lights, so I opted for an open bottom. Next I found a daylight sensor, since I also hate finding outdoor lights on during the daylight. Finally I found a lamp with LED panels built in, no bulbs to change and warrantied to last for years. All priced for the same amount as your selection (hint: Costco).
My last input is you skipped the caulking steps in your write up. Having a good seal with clear outdoor caulk on the top 2/3 of the base helps stop water from coming in and allows condensation and unseen leaks to drip out the bottom 1/3 of the base.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tips!
xo
s
Dominique Paolini says
I have to say, I was with Sherry on this pick. No. 6 is AMAZING!
Emily says
2nd comment… With the pergola you have planned, some lattice work on both sides of the garage would help fill in the space and then the single light in the middle would feel balanced and not lonely.
Emily out!
Kristen says
Ahh, so first – big fan of your blog and I generally love everything you do. With that being said, I’m with a couple of the other commenters in saying that it is driving my perfectionist mind nuts that the light at the back door doesn’t line up with the top of the frame. I love the light on its own but it’s just too high up for the door frame, I think. I was actually eyeing #5 for the door. I just personally think something hanging down would look like it belongs more.
karen @ paperfancy.com says
Love the new light fixture! What a huge difference that change made. We have the same problem. Two older small fixtures that need to be replaced.
Can’t wait to see this house when you’re finished with it? Will you stay or put it on the market?
YoungHouseLove says
We want to be here for a nice long time! No plans to move for decades . We want Clara and the bun to grow up here :)
xo
s
Nicki says
I honestly think it looks totally AOK — no need to return it for a new one.
Molly says
Aw bummer, I tried your discount code and it doesn’t work :'(
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry Molly! Hope it comes back someday for ya! They tend to turn them on and off.
xo
s
Jennifer Thomas says
We use Lightingdirect.com
They have a great selection when the warehouses don’t always.
We too have learned to wait until some/more of the improvements have been made before selecting finish details like lights. In other words, what if it doesn’t work well with your new veranda etc? So hard to know, but until then a light is a light. Probably wouldn’t hurt too bad though to sell via Craigslist later if you wanted to go with something else.
Kisha says
Hey John & Sherry!
First, I LOVE your blog and think you guys have AMAZING ideas! I am so impressed with your creativity and the quality of your DIY projects.
As far as the light over the garage, I was thinking the solution is more lights. I have no idea if that’s feasible or how expensive it may be. BUT, when I look at the picture, that one light in the middle seems very lonely and off-balance. Adding two more lights (one on the outside of each of the rolling doors) would balance out the look and the lights wouldn’t be swallowed up by the huge expanse of brick.
Just my thoughts. I’m sure wherever you end up, it will be fabulous!
Kisha
Jessica D. says
Woot! has deals on outside lighting lanterns, I think some look right up your design alley. http://tools.woot.com/plus/design-craft-wall-lanterns