Easy-to-Customize Porch Lighting for Vintage Farmhouse
Some people look at a 170-year-old house and see outdated plumbing, faulty wiring, and sagging floors. Liz Marie took one look at her Grand Rapids, Michigan, home and saw nothing but dreams.
“The original home was built in 1847,” she says. “We love the old farmhouse, the wraparound porch, the barn, and the land. We love it all, and it’s only a few minutes away from Starbucks too!”
Liz Marie chronicles the renovations of her “new” home on the Liz Marie Blog. Last fall, she decided the front porch needed barn lights to tie together the farmhouse feel.
“We wanted something that would fit the scale of the porch and home,” Liz Marie explains. “We really like the options from Barn Light Electric and being able to customize the lights to fit your needs.” She chose eight Wilcox Vented Gooseneck Lights and customized the fixtures with 16″ shades in a Galvanized finish with circle vents in the neck.
“There’s a lot we like about these lights. I really like the vents in the shade that kick out just a little bit of light,” Liz Marie notes. “We love buying American-made products, and the customizing options were great. Most other places we searched had assembled lights sold as is, and we found ourselves liking the color of one, the style of another, but never finding a perfect mix.”
Liz Marie initially ordered a G11 gooseneck arm but found that the large shade hung too low. Instead of moving eight junction boxes which would require significant cutting into the siding, Liz Marie worked with the Barn Light sales team to find a gooseneck arm that would best suit the space.
“The G19 arm raised the shade up perfectly and we didn’t have to move any electrical boxes,” she notes. “We really like the look of these new arms.”
Liz Marie enjoys decorating her porch for every season and her legions of followers on Instagram appreciate her efforts. She has her lights tied to a smart switch that uses Geo Track to turn on when their phones come within range.
“It’s so nice when we come down the road and watch the lights come on,” she says. “It’s like the lights are telling us ‘Welcome home!'”
Photos courtesy of Liz Marie Blog
