Farmhouse Renovation Uses Easy-to-Customize Lighting to Add Color
Brooke and her husband admired the old barn for years. The classic New England barn in East Burke, Vermont, had been renovated into a home in 2007, and when they saw it listed for sale in 2018, they jumped at the chance to own it.
“We bought it and started a complete remodel,” Brooke says. “New flooring, paint, custom kitchen and pantry, plus new bathrooms.” The couple’s design for the home focused on simple, vintage New England style. With much of the interior covered in barn board, they added color with new lighting.
“We wanted good quality lighting with bright color options to offset the gray and brown barn board,” Brooke explains. “And being able to customize the lighting was important to me because I wanted unique lights — not big-box store stuff.”
Brooke found the perfect kitchen lights when she came across Barn Light Electric’s collection of schoolhouse lighting during an internet search.
“I saw them and knew immediately they were what I wanted,” she notes. “For the kitchen, they are just perfect.” Brooke chose the Primary Schoolhouse Pendant Light for the sink area and customized these American-made fixtures with small opaque glass, Galvanized fitter, and Royal Blue painted bands.
“We chose opaque for the vintage look and because it matched the subway tiles and quartzite island counter,” she says. “And I painted the island a color called Champion Cobalt by Ben Moore, and your Royal Blue was a perfect match.” Brooke ordered color samples from Barn Light to be sure of her color selections before ordering.
For the nearby pantry, Brooke stayed with the schoolhouse vibe but she needed a more compact fixture. She opted for the Primary Schoolhouse Semi-Flush Mount Light also customized with opaque glass.
“The pantry was designed around my late grandmother’s antique ice box,” Brooke explains. “The light has a great vintage look that complements the icebox and cabinets. We chose the Oil-Rubbed Bronze finish to match the drawer hardware and oak wood tones.”
And what farmhouse would be complete without a generous table for family dining? Brooke’s table is accented by a Bomber 2-Light Stem Mount Pendant customized with two handcrafted shades finished in porcelain enamel Jadite. This rugged fixture also boasts a Galvanized mounting plus cast guard and frosted glass.
“I really love the Jadite finish color,” Brooke says. “It looks retro and goes well with the wood and stone accents in our barn house. The frosted glass added to the retro look and also offers a softer, diffused light for our dining area.”
The first-floor powder room also got a lighting upgrade in the form of a class barn wall sconce. Brooke wanted to keep the barn-style theme consistent throughout her home and found the perfect fixture in the Bantam Union Wall Sconce. She customized this handspun wall light with a 10″ shade, Textured Black finish, and an acrylic lens option.
“The 10″ seemed like a good fit given the size of the room and the sink area,” she notes. “The bottom of the sink is a black powder coat so the color option is a good match for the room. And I went with the lens to soften the light a bit. I really like how the light projects out over the mirror.”
Be sure to check back at the end of the month when we will continue our tour of Brooke’s beautiful home. Next up is the living space, game room, and office then in April, we’ll head outside to check out her exterior lighting selections!
Photos courtesy of the homeowner
