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Monday, December 5, 2011

Exterior Lanterns

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I have mentioned some of the interior lighting selections that we made, but just as important to the design of the house were the exterior lighting selections.  Exterior lighting is an integral part of the look of the house; as with most design and architecture related items, scale and proportion are of utmost importance, as are materials and style.

We ended up using mostly copper lanterns, in various styles.  The copper is already attaining the beautiful patina that comes from exposure to the elements.   We used different styles of lanterns in various locations, and selected both electric and gas lanterns.  It drives my husband a little bit crazy to have a gas lantern running 24/7, so we reserved the gas lanterns for the front of the house and the outdoor room, and the rest are electric.
 
One of my favorite exterior lanterns is by a company called Flambeaux Lighting.  It is a New Orleans based company that makes all of their lanterns by hand, in their New Orleans shop.  Their products are made by craftsmen who have years of experience crafting copper lanterns, and this is clearly seen in the product. I had never heard of them before building my house, but they came highly recommended.  Their price point is excellent (lower than many of their competitors), the quality of their product is outstanding,  and although they have a large catalog, they can also craft lanterns custom to the job.  Their lead time is also very reasonable, which is always a good thing!

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From the Flambeaux web site: “As native residents of New Orleans we understand the look and feel of the French Quarter.  We use this experience to design and build the finest French Quarter style gas lanterns you will find anywhere.  Our designs reflect the broad diversity of this region as well as the many influences of the people that live here.  You see these styles in the many different types of lanterns from the colonial style Williamsburg, to the European style London Street to the authentic French Quarter style lanterns”.

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  “As a manufacturer we are continually adding new styles of lanterns as well as building custom lanterns for our clients and friends who have something special in mind.  The style and type of lantern we can build is limited only by your imagination so please contact us if you have something unique in mind - we can build it.”

Here are the Flambeaux lanterns that we ordered for our house – this style is the Regency, and we custom ordered this pair on a gooseneck bracket in the large 35” size.   We purposely chose to scale these on the large size; when the four trees near the lanterns have leaves, the effect is softened. (Note: I have an extra pair of these lanterns that we did not end up using. If you are in the Atlanta area, and are interested, please contact me: thingsthatinspire@gmail.com)

On the opposite side of the exterior of family room, where we have the grill, we used the same style – the Regency – in the 30” size, flush mount to the wall.   One little tip that someone gave me – when using electric exterior lanterns, purchase silk wrapped bulbs – it makes the bulbs glow and look a bit like candles!  I got my silk wrapped bulbs at a lighting store in Atlanta, Lamp Arts.

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For more information on Flambeaux products, check out their web site.  One note from their web site that I thought was interesting, they point out that their lanterns (when fitted as electric) can be used either inside and outside.   The lantern on the left as a flush mount would look great as a sconce in a casual bathroom – and I love the idea of a lantern as a table lamp.




QD collage

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21 comments:

  1. Fabulous light fixtures and loving those gooseneck lights. Thanks for the source.

    Enjoy your Sunday!
    Debra

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  2. Beautiful lanterns. I love your selections, especially the gooseneck.

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  3. They're a great resource! You used yours beautifully! Love the idea of using them in a bathroom.

    Cheers,
    John

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  4. So classic and love the beautiful patina. Copper has become my "go to"...just painted my tudor door "Vintage Metallic Copper"...like it! franki

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  5. I am drawn to your paint and trim color. Care to share?

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  6. perfection!
    i stylize exteriors and the biggest mistake are lights that are too small, love your choices and scale
    debra

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  7. Thanks for the peek.
    I'm with 5th and slate, Gordon also says not to go small. Silk wrapped bulbs, really? Must check that out.

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  8. Hi Holly.....beautiful lanterns, funny someone recently told me the same thing about silk wrapped bulbs!! I took a mental note of it for when the time comes. We are going through the angst of choosing outdoor lighting right now and I think are going to end up having things made, thanks for the resources...always good to know of new possibilities! Things are looking great!

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  9. Cool reflection in the doors - limestone eggs? Very unique!

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  10. Please share your exterior paint colors.

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  11. These are heavenly, I wish we could get lamps like this in Australia that didn't require a second mortgage !

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  12. I love lanterns and it's great to know of a good resource! They look lovely on your house! I hadn't heard of silk wrapped bulbs so that's also good to know....

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  13. Thanks for the nice messages!

    I hate to tell you this, but the paint colors were completely custom mixed. We used San Marco paint, which has their own color palette, and our goal was a paint color that was neutral leaning towards taupe rather than yellow or gray. We must have tried over 30 colors of paint.

    We created a mini brick sample wall with trim on the top, and faced it in the same direction as the front of the house so we could see how the colors looked in the different light of the day.

    Two colors we liked that were standard were SW relaxed khaki, and BM grant beige. The relaxed khaki was too tan for what I wanted, and the grant beige was excellent but we could not deepen it to 200% because of the pastel base. So we started custom mixing.

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  14. The size and scale of exterior lighting is an often overlooked. Love the gooseneck fixtures they are so dramatic! Thank you for sharing!!

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  15. Beautiful. I would love to know about your door hardware and slate roof selection.

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  16. I love the lanterns you selected! I am catching up on your blog... it's been a busy few months!

    xo,
    cristin

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  17. Beautiful home! I especially love the exterior color scheme. Would you mind sharing the names of the paint colors used on the brick and trim? Thank you!

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  18. Oops, just found your comment about paint colors. For clarification, is your trim the same as the walls just deepened? (New to all of the terminology -- thanks!)

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  19. I've been thinking about buying some gas lanterns myself and will be referring back to you page when I go shopping.

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  20. This could not be more timely!!! I just found out that I will not be able to reuse some of the exterior lighting we had. Back to the drawing board. I'm definitely looking into this company!

    xo Elizabeth

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Thank you for your comments! I strive to make my blog positive in tone, and appreciate the same courtesy when comments are made. Thank you!

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