Reproduction Lighting

So many lighting reproductions that are available for outdoor use today are not just style-friendly but style-specific in ways that add architectural richness and detail. Lighting reproductions have been around for a while. Early American fixtures, for instance, have been popular since the 1920s.

But as authentic period examples become increasingly rare, today’s best reproductions often replicate those pieces’ quirky imperfections. Just about any of these designs can be rated for use on the porch, around an uncovered entry or alongside a path in your yard. For Early and some Colonial Revival homes, options include rectangular lanterns with or without guards, and onion and globe lamps with decorative carry straps for wall, ceiling or post mount. Authentic materials are often used for these replications: tin, terne, iron and copper.

Gaslight Fixtures
Does your home date to the mid to late 19th century? Then you have the option of choosing real gaslight for fixtures closely modeled after the flared, multi-paned shades, lantern shades, globe shades and acorn shades. Not sure about the gas? Charleston Gaslight offers gas and electric options for both 19th century and Early American fixtures.

Mission-style Lighting
With the popularity of Mission style dining furniture and Craftsman furniture it has never been easier to find good Arts and Crafts and Mission-era lighting to match. At least a dozen manufacturers base their reproductions on true period examples. Others offer sophisticated interpretations of early-20th-century classics in materials like copper and bronze. You can find reproductions that are tailored for specific uses that go beyond the door entry and lamp post. Coe Studios, for instance, offers a Mission-inspired bronze footlight. Brass Light Gallery offers versatile designs that easily morph from entries and porches to column mounts and garden path lights.

Electric-Era Lights
Almost every style made after the 19th century revolves around electronic-era lighting. These styles include facsimiles of Colonial Revival fixtures, reproductions of “medieval” designs originally found on Tudor and Spanish Colonial Revival homes, the classic over-the-garage bare-bulb industrial light, and Atomic Age fixtures from the sixties. Clearly, “electronic-era lighting” refers to electric fixtures, but most will accept GU24 bulbs as well. All these designs are available in cast iron, aluminum and bronze, and often display inventive finishes that capture the authentic look of black enamel and unlacquered bronze.