parallels

OK, you ask, "How do I believe it to be beautiful?" (see previous blogs)

Well, we are all born into a wonderful world of nature, where everything has a pattern, proportion, and purpose to it, from the way a tree grows, the way a rose unfurls, or the way a Nautilus shell grows. We do not necessarily see the patterns or recognize the proportions in nature but they are there nonetheless.  These patterns are perceived, recognized, and cross referenced by our subconscience. Some will argue that proper use of these patterns and proportions give us a sense of calm and deepen our feeling of belonging and connection to our environment.  This can also be called beauty. The ancient Greeks understood and believed this and used this knowledge to give us the classical forms of Architecture.

As Jonathan Hale wrote for his opening paragraph in the must read book The Old Way of Seeing,  “There was a time in our past when one could walk down any street and be surrounded by harmonious buildings. Such a street wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t necessarily even pretty, but it was alive. The old buildings smiled, while our new buildings are faceless. The old buildings sang, while the buildings of our age have no music in them.”

I will suggest a parallel between Mr. Hale's opinion on architecture and the current state of contemporary lighting.

Leaving the door wide open

"Have nothing in your home you know not to be useful and believe to be beautiful". William Morris



On first read I thought, "Great!  Useful and beautiful, got it!" But as we talked about how to give people back "permission" to make their own design choices (previous blog), it became very clear how powerful, succinct, and wise his comment was.


Read it again and listen to how it changes when you key into the words know and believe.  Have nothing in your home you KNOW not to be useful and BELIEVE to be beautiful.   William Morris was giving you permission to make your own decisions! Have items in your home YOU know to be useful, not a gadget an ad tells you that you need. Have items in your home YOU believe to be beautiful, not something that is the current design trend.


Bill was one of the founders of the Arts & Crafts movement, yet he does not say fill your home with Arts & Crafts style furnishings. He left that door wide open for YOU to decide what is useful and where YOU find beauty.


The pink flamingo in your yard may bring you humor and is useful in that regard.
You may find beauty in the old orange macrame plant hanger you found at a garage sale.

It does not matter what anyone else thinks, as long as you know and believe. Keep believing, my friends.



Listen to your eyes. PB

Don't ask permission and don't beg forgivness

The larger question which emerged from the previous post was, "Why are so many people afraid to make a decision when it comes to decorating their home?" One reason may be no one has given them permission to. Sounds so simplistic, and it usually is.

The intention of all my writing is to give the reader “permission” to think, choose, and be comfortable with their own decisions concerning purchase, placement, and installation of vintage lighting (or any other item) in their home. There seems to be too much in the way of an authoritarian “this is the only correct stuff” mentality, instead of giving credence to our own unique preferences and for each of us to be guided by our intuition and sense of style. The whole Arts & Crafts movement was based on an individuals' wanting choice from the mass-produced “this is what you need (want)” commercialism.

I give permission back to the individual to beleive and trust in their own unique sense of style. 

Art Deco can be beautifully combined with Arts & Crafts or Spanish Revival or Victorian. This is exactly what one would have seen in the common home of the early 20th Century.

"Have nothing in your home you know not to be useful and believe to be beautiful". William Morris

Please tell me....

 As we exhibit and sell vintage lighting in shows around the country, the most frequently asked question we're asked is a variation of “ What kind of lighting should I put into my 1919 Bungalow?"  (Insert any year or style, the question is basically always the same). And my answer is always the same: Choose the antique fixtures that appeal to you, fixtures that fit your own unique sense of style, and fixtures which bring you pleasure to look at regardless of the “style” or “era” someone has attached to it.

Two of the nicest features of authentic vintage lighting are 1. The myrid of styles, finishes and designs to choose from, and 2. They are easily replaced, so when you fall in love with them you can take them with you to your next home, and 3. (Who's counting?) Authentic vintage lighting retains and increases its value, even as soon as you "drive it off the lot."
As our staff discussed this frequently asked question of "What kind of lighting should I put into my 1919 Bungalow?" a much larger question emerged....... stay tuned.

Listen to your eyes PB

About that light bulb........

Maybe you also have read that using the standard "flame bulb"with the tip pointing down is "counter intuitive" because gas flames do not burn downward. I have found that statement to be extremely insulting not just to my intelligence, but to the intelligence of the populace. This suggests we can be fooled by simply creating a close proximity of something, out of a different material, and with just a smidgen of resemblance to the real item.


People, your eyes and brain KNOW that it is a light bulb, not a flame.  Nothing counter intutive about this! (Anyway a flame can burn downward as anyone who has used a propane torch can attest).

You can use this type of bulb, up or down, to retain the authentic look of a vintage fixture.
Now there is a reason for for using these flame bulbs with the tip upward. When they are used tip downward heat can build up at the base (now at the top) shortening the life of the bulb or worse, creating a fire risk.

Listen to your eyes - PB

They looked a lot better as beer cans

One particular design element which has somehow been accepted today as indispensable (albeit cost-effective) and which looks completely out of place in a restoration of a home over 70 years old is the ceiling can light, aka work lighting, task lighting etc, etc. To mis-quote Jimmy Buffett “They looked a lot better as beer cans.”

It seems every designer and remodeler today has accepted can lights as the only solution to illuminate those areas, typically in the kitchen. How did we live through 50 years of electrical lighting without the can light without straining our eyesight? Very well and elegantly. Lighting manufacturers did recognize the need for this type of illumination over working and task areas. In fact it was even more important back then as ceilings were typically higher and the wattage of available light bulbs was lower.

Can, or work lighting, task lighting, etc, etc, is often pointed out in interior descriptions. What seems to be forgotten in these examples is the Inverse Square Law for Light Intensity, which states the intensity of light is in an inverse proportion to the square of the distance from the source. Simply exlained if a light bulb is twice as close to the work surface (3 feet away verses 6 feet away for example) it will provide 4 times the amount of luminosity at the work surface, 3x closer (example: 3 feet vs. 9 feet away) it will provide 9x the amount of intrinsic luminosity, 4 times closer 16x etc etc.

So the best solution to provide adequate task lighting is to get the light source as close to the work surface as possible. Vintage lighting provided the solution back then and it can provide the authentic solution today.

Lust for the little things.

We recently received an inquiry (we have received several such requests over the years) as to where to source the pull chain socket for the old porcelain bath wall sconces. You know, the sockets with those little teardrop shaped dangley things attached to a small chain coming out of the bottom or side of the wall sconce, referred to as finials. (see image), which give these wall sconces their authentic look.

Unfortunately we have not been able to find a source for these sockets. They just do not seem to be made any more. There are other sockets available which will retro fit these sconces but none with the pull chain and porcelain finial.

The only way we are able to refurbish these types of sockets is to buy 2 or 3 old sconces in hopes we can make one good one out of them. And this is no easy task. The steamy environment where they were typically installed has taken its toll as dust and grime settled in with the moisture. With 8 electrical contact points, every time the switch was activated by pulling on the finial, little arcs of electricity ate away at the copper contacts. Lucky we can make one good one out of 2 or 3 old ones.

We will keep looking for an alternative for these sockets but until we do find one, we will keep refurbishing what we can so you can keep the authentic look alive.