March 17, 2018
wall mounted lanterns

Adding Wall Mounted Lanterns And Sconces To Your Home Decor

Wall mounted fixtures attached to your wall have one main job: To work with ceiling mounted fixtures and lamps to supplement natural light in a room. In fulfilling their purpose, wall mounted lights provide lighting with style.

What Wall Mounted Fixtures Offer

Fixtures of this type are also called sconces, which may make you think of the matching lights mounted on either side of your fireplace that add more decoration than light. Sconces used in this way are not representative of the great potential of wall mounted light to enable you to complete tasks that require more illumination. In your living room, for example, natural light and light from an overhead fixture provides enough light if you or your friends are conversing or watching TV. To read, play cards, or crochet, you need additional wattage directed toward you. The same thing is true in bedrooms, home offices, kitchens, and other rooms where you do close work. And of course, on the exterior of your home.

Providing extra light may sound like the job of a floor or table lamp, the often-used solution for task lighting. While beautiful lamps can add to a well-designed room, they also take up valuable real estate whether they are directly on the floor or placed on a desk, nightstand, or end table. A great way to eliminate the need for a table or free up valuable space on a flat surface is to employ a wall lamp to provide more intense light directed toward your task.

By placing a wall lamp at eye level when standing or nearer to the task you want to do when sitting, you will not have light “in your face” but will have it where you need it.

Shining Light Where You Need It

To accommodate where you need light, wall lights or sconces can have their light directed in three ways: up, down, or up /down and all-around. By directing light upward, rooms appear larger and more open, while light directed downward makes a room feel warmer and more cozy. Lights that can be pointed up or down, together or separately, are very flexible as they can provide the ambiance you want and balance your room.

Before selecting sconces for your home, you should analyze the type of light you need and buy ones that will do the job. Some products intended to provide directional light can only be installed in one direction, while other can used for up or down lighting.

Choosing the Right Sconce Design

No matter what the style of your home or business, there is a wall mounted sconce that will look great in your home.

  1. Traditional sconces are more formal and ornate, which makes them appropriate for a historic or period house.
  2. Transitional style sconces are neither overly ornate nor overly plain, so they are versatile enough to work with most décors.
  3. Rustic sconces complement animal motifs, dark color, and distressed finishes and add character to any room. Even if you have a formal home, you might want rustic sconces in dad’s mancave or the basement rec room.
  4. Contemporary sconces are sleek, simple, and minimalist, which makes then a good fit for homes with a modern design. Often made with silver or other metallic finishes, they are functional while having a plain design. They can even tone down the formality of a traditional space.

Seven Styles Of Sconces

With these style in mind, there are seven popular types of sconces to choose from.

  1. Half Moon or Flush-Mounted Wall Washers. A compact half circle that hugs the wall, the flush mounted wall washer or half moon is the most common style of sconce. Available in many styles, colors, materials, and finishes, this type of fixture is often used as an accent light that washes the wall with subtle light – hence the name.
  2. Lantern Wall Sconce. Like their historic counterparts, wall mounted lanterns that support a bulb or other light source in metal frame to provide a great amount of light. They are often used as porch lights to offer all those who enter the home safe, well lit passage. Outdoor lanterns placed around the yard can light up a deck, patio, outdoor kitchen, or pool area and deter burglars who might lurk around the neighborhood in search of unattended homes. For use outside, the lanterns might be fueled by gas or electricity, while variations intended for indoor use are usually electric. Despite their traditional roots, lanterns are now made in a variety of styles to accentuate and complement any home. For example, the craftsmen at Lantern & Scroll offer the more contemporary wall mounted lanterns from the Vendue Inn Collection as well as more traditional CharlestonColumbia, or Vauxhall 2 Collections.
  3. Candle Sconces. Harkening back to the day when candles were mounted in wall holders, candle sconces now use candelabra bulbs to add a bit of light to a wall. While associated with more formal setting, candle sconces come in many stylistic variations these days, including the popular Simple Sconce from Lantern & Scroll.
  4. Wallchieres. Usually used indoors, wallchieres combine a wall lamp with a torchiere floor lamp to provide a more decorative fixture that hugs the wall. A common design features an up light with a long, slim tail that can be simple or ornate. They are often used to provide light and style near furniture without taking up floor space or to frame a bathroom vanity.
  5. Swing Arm Wall Light. The type of sconce moves up or down or out from the wall via a moveable arm to bring light to where you need it. Mounted on a wall, it provide a reading light by the bed, desk lighting, or illumination for a nursery that can be moved back toward the wall when not in use.
  6. Picture Light. Unusually long and slender, a picture light is installed to illuminate art from above. The fixture is designed to be unobtrusive so as to bring out the subtleties of a painting or object ‘art.
  7. Sign Light. Broader than a picture light so as to illuminate a larger area, a sign light often used outdoors to light up a business light or indoors to shine on a mural or large piece of art.

Your Source For Wall Mounted Lanterns

For inspired wall mounted lanterns and other fixtures, visit the Lantern & Scroll website or showroom today.

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