After a long day, coming home to find the porch light on is welcoming. It reminds you of why you left for work in the first place: to create a refuge for yourself and your family. Investing in a quality copper porch light is an excellent way to not only maximize the potential of entryway light, but also beautify your property.

Lighting For Improved Security

When guests come, a well-lit portal allows you to identify who’s there before you invite them into your home while offering them the illumination they need to navigate steps, railings, and thresholds. Even in “safe” neighborhoods with low crime rates, you need to be doubly concerned about the safety of yourself and your visitors. You don’t want the liability if someone stumbles and falls at your door, but you do want to control who has access to your home. After turning on the porch light and looking through the keyhole viewer on your door, you can determine whether to open your door to visitors. If you also install an intercom, you can verbally verify who is there – maybe even via an app on your smartphone.

In many areas, theft of packages is on the rise. A well-lit entryway and yard can discourage thieves, who are more likely to steal passages from a dark house where it appears that no one is home. Outdoor lighting used in conjunction with security cameras that you can access right from your smartphone are proving to be an way to ward off theft and vandalism. Many systems such as Nest Cam Outdoor, Arlo by Netgear, Zmoto, and more can be easily set up so that you can monitor visitors and activity around your house and control lights, appliances, sprinklers, and more, depending on the model.

Outdoor Light Trends

According to a recent study by remodeling and design platform Houzz, nearly half of the surveyed homeowners who renovated their outside space updated or install outside lighting on porches and decks, around pools, on the sides of driveways, and throughout the yard. With many options at every price point, most homeowners choose quality options that looks great, save energy, and can control with a computer, or smartphone.

For maximum performance from their new lighting, many are choosing more costly LED bulbs or even solar options. About 40% of respondents gave “helping the environment” the reason for their design decisions. LED bulbs cost more but use 70% less energy, while-lasting 25 times as long. The bulbs are available in many styles and brightness levels, even with candelabra bases for copper lanterns. Department of Energy studies indicate that widespread use of LEDs could save a considerable amount of energy produced by 44 major electric plants electric plants.

Selecting The Best Porch Light For Your Home’s Architecture

Beyond function, porch lights and other outdoor lighting fixtures enhance the appearance of your home. With miles of choices available in big-box stores, as well as inbrick and mortar and online lighting stores, you can buy a fixture that complements the architecture of your home while doing the job of sufficiently illuminating even dark areas of your porch and offering a warm glow rather than harsh light.

In selecting a fixture, the first choice you must make the regard the type and number of fixtures. For porches, you might select wall mount, flush mount, or even hanging styles, or on larger porches even a combination of wall mounted lights and either an overhead ceiling mount fixture or a chandelier or pendant. If your porch is small, a single sconce may do the job, but if you have the space, double sconces placed 6 to 12 inches on each side of the door result in a symmetrical appearance.

Selecting the right style fixture gives your home, a pleasing, cohesive appearance. According to This Old House, famous for its TV show and blog about home repair, here is what you might consider when matching lighting with your home:

• Cottage style homes benefit from fixtures with details such as vintage opaque glass and queued lantern arms.
• Tudor revival homes with steep roofs, arched windows, and stonework call for lanterns in detail, such as metal flourishes and seeded glass.
• Bungalows, Arts and Crafts-styled homes, and other properties with 20th century lines look best with fixtures, with angular lines and ogee edges with concave arches that flow into convex one.
• Ranch-style homes and other midcentury homes are well-suited for angular fixtures and aerodynamic silhouettes finished in burnished or powder coated metal.
• Cape Cod and salt box homes acquire rustic charm from copper, onion shaped lanterns.
• Colonial-revival homes with formal entrances look great with detailed fixtures finished in glossy black or gilded metallic tones.
• Victorian-styled homes look best with fixtures with embellishments to match gingerbread trim, fancy shingling, and other romantic touches.
• Federal style homes with elaborate entryways are well-suited for lantern-styled sconces with original touches, such as hinged glass doors and candle covered sockets for authenticity.
• Classical homes such as urban rowhouses and properties with double height porches are well complemented with globes that often have metal frames to enhance the building façade.

In selecting a porch light, fixtures that have straighter lines and minimal detail are the best choice for some homes, while more rounded styles with plenty of embellishment are best for others. If you choose an electric option, you can minimize ongoing costs with LED bulbs.

Buying A Quality Copper Porch Light Makes Sense

While lights in all styles are available at varied price points, The Old House points out that investing in a quality fixture makes sense. Cheaper fixtures under $150 are usually constructed out of sheet metal that is prone to bending and finished with spray on or powder coatings that chip off, discolor, oxidize, and rust, especially in harsh weather. When you spend $250, you are likely to get an aluminum fixture that is more resistant to rust and that offers more detail.

For a fixture that is even more likely to resist oxidation and offer the type of detail and sound construction you want, you should be prepared to invest in a quality brass or copper lantern that will last and become more beautiful with time. When left uncoated, these fixtures develop patina or can be polished. Products that are sealed with lacquer or electroplating have their finishes hand applied in multiple layers that resist oxidation. This quality may set you back hundreds of dollars per fixture, but the results will offer timeless beauty to your home.

Let Lantern & Scroll Light Your Way

When you are looking for a copper porch light, look no further than Lantern & Scroll, makers of handmade reproductions. We offer lighting in styles to bring out the best in any home, whether you want the angular lines embodied in our Market Street or Canaan Cities Collection or the more rounded, embellished styling of the Charleston or Vauxhall Collections,

When ordering, you can specify the type of finish for the glass and metal, gas or electric lighting options, and many standard embellishments to customize your fixture. If you want something special, we will work with you or your architect or designer to come up with the perfect design. For questions or inquiries about custom work, contact us today.