As the last snows of the season give way to warmer temperatures, the earth comes alive once again with rich greens and warm browns. Gardens bloom with vibrant hues; birds chirp carefree tunes. And by springtime, maybe you’re feeling your house could do with some brightening as well.
“Winter can wreak havoc on your house. Spring is the perfect time to take a look outside,” says Tina Ator of The Olde Mill House Shoppes (www.oldemillhouse.com) in Lancaster. “Getting outside to see the sun puts you in a better mood.”
And while you might not be able to completely revamp your home, or install a dream hardscape out back, Ator says you can easily change the look of your home with lighting. “It’s the jewelry to your house,” Ator explains. “It finishes it off, gives it a touch not every house will have.”
The lighting pros at Yale Lighting Concepts and Design (www.yalelightingconcepts.com) couldn’t agree more. They too liken lighting to jewelry and insist that updated lighting is an essential component of the home. “Lighting is influenced by furniture trends [and] furniture is influenced by fashion,” explains showroom director Alice Hoover. “As it filters down, this is the interpretation.” And according to Hoover, this spring’s rendition of fashion trends, lighting-wise, centers on technology and natural or industrial-chic designs.
We’ve consulted with our experts and pulled together some of the top lighting trends for spring, grouped by types and by concepts. Get inspired by the new, and add some extra shine to your home’s façade.
LED Has a Moment
This winter, Hoover returned from Texas energized and excited about new technology. LED outdoor lighting, Hoover says, was one of the top trends for spring at the annual Dallas Lighting Market. “They’re finally perfecting it,” she explains. “Technology has come so far from when it was first introduced.” While initially launched onto the market emitting a more blueish hue, the light rendering from energy-efficient LED lamps is now more natural, Hoover insists. “At first people would look at it and say, ‘Not for me.’ Now they say, ‘Wow! Technology has advanced,’” she says. LEDs last longer than incandescents and are more environmentally friendly. Yet this technology still comes with a heftier price tag.
The LED lighting trend is having a profound effect upon glass styles as well. “LEDs are cumbersome looking and not attractive,” says Hoover. As a response, many companies are inverting the LED and placing it in the top of the light fixture. But that also leaves the light fixture with an empty look. Textured glass takes care of that problem, Hoover says: It masks garish LED bulbs or hides the fact that there’s nothing to see. “You don’t know that the candle cluster’s missing.” For spring, Hoover
says seedy glass, double glass or water glass are all popular styles.
Local Illumination
Buying local products is nothing new, yet both Hoover and Ator insist that customers seeking locally-produced lighting is a recurring theme that swells with springtime makeovers. “Buying local is deep in my heart because if people didn’t buy local, I couldn’t be here,” says Ator. “When you search out local companies, you get a unique product.” At The Olde Mill House Shoppes, all of their outdoor lighting is made in the United States, with roughly 90 percent coming specifically from
the Susquehanna Valley. Ator says she utilizes one local craftsman who cuts, folds, crimps and hand solders the edges of fixtures. At Yale Lighting Concepts and Design, Hoover says that products produced by local Hanover Lantern are especially popular.
“Often people will come in and ask for something not just American-made but from a local company,” Hoover says. “It’s a really quality product that’s made here in the area … people like that.” Hanover Lantern makes varied products, from path and street lighting to mailboxes. Hoover says the company caters to the style of most homes prevalent in the area: Many of Hanover’s lamps are modeled in the traditional lantern look, so homeowners can match their lighting fixtures to their home’s construction style. “They stay true to the community they live in,” she says.
Lit Up
New technology is filtering into spring’s products, and up-lighting is no exception. But LED isn’t the only technological trend: versatile lamps with interchangeable parts are growing in popularity. “As shrubs grow, you want to change the brightness of lights as they shoot up higher,” says Charlotte Couch, also of Yale Lighting Concepts and Design in Harrisburg. But in order to do that, homeowners often must purchase new spot lights with higher wattages. Enter Hinkley’s modular integrated LED engine inserts: They feature different intensities and are designed to be interchangeable. These engine inserts pop into Hinkley’s brass or aluminum spot lights, so homeowners can alter light intensities as they see fit. “It’s cost-effective for the consumer,” Couch says. “And it eliminates electrical installation of a new product,” adds Hoover.
Down The Garden Path
With many homeowners now extending their home through backyard hardscapes, they are spending more time outside. This calls for a closer look at the illumination of pathways, gardens, ponds and patios. Couch says many homeowners are utilizing LED tape lighting to graze walls, line pathways and light up ponds. And while some opt for emerging sleek or industrial looks for their garden lighting, others still choose more traditional looks, perennial favorites like petite lanterns or mushroom lights. “Go with what you like,” advises Ator. “Have fun with it. It’s the garden. I’ve even seen animals as solar lights.” Couch, too, says she has seen homeowners be playful with their garden lighting, adding lights that look like horse heads as accents and focal points along their pathways.
Fabulous Finishes
At The Olde Mill House Shoppes, Ator says the most popular finish for clients is dark brass. “It’s a staple,” she says. “Every now and then, you’ll see raw brass, which is brighter, or copper or verdi.” Ator’s expansive store features an assortment of primitive and period lighting, and finishes are less altered for spring trends. Meanwhile, at Yale Lighting Concepts, Hoover says copper and burnished brass are popular finishes for clients. As copper oxidizes, gray-green patina forms. Hoover says the natural colors that appear as a result of the weathering process make this finish on-trend for spring.