Featured Customer | Gooseneck Lights Bring Historic Touch to Conch-Style House
They pack a lot of culture, sunshine, and absolute fun into the seven square miles that make up our nation’s southernmost city. While Key West, Florida, is known for many things, the history of the place is particularly fascinating. Cuba may come to mind when you think of cigar making, but Key West was once considered the cigar capital of the world shipping more than 62 million cigars annually. In the late 1800s, there were more than 80 cigar factories with hundreds of workers living in small conch houses. One of these houses, severely damaged by fire in 2011, was recently rebuilt by today’s Featured Customer Mark who shares with us why he chose gooseneck barn lighting to honor the history of the home.
“Key West has the largest collection of antique wood frame buildings in the US except for New Orleans, and I wanted to do my part to preserve the ambiance of our little lane,” Mark says. The little lane is located in Old Town and Mark was able to save the exterior in the front of the home after the fire. Working with architect Thomas E. Pope, interior designer Ben Teague, and contractor Key King Enterprises, Mark created a brand new space that is modern in feel but honors its heritage with style and materials.
“I wanted a design that would ‘live modern’ in every way but feel truer to the period of the house,” Mark explains. In the kitchen, Mark chose three 8″ Bantam Artesia Gooseneck Lights in a Galvanized finish. The two fixtures over the cabinets have G22 gooseneck arms while the one over the sink sports a G26 arm. This compact version of our larger gooseneck warehouse shades is perfect for this diminutive kitchen.
“We paired the galvanized barn lights with antique-style bulbs and they provide just the right touch of ‘rustic’ in the kitchen,” Mark says. Outside, he chose a Goodrich® Sky Chief Porcelain Gooseneck Light with a 16″ shade over a doorway to the home. The Sky Chief was customized with a Black finish, G22 gooseneck arm, and a nostalgic Edison Style Light Bulb. The Black finish complements the signature pastel color and white trim of the house in perfect Key West style.
“It makes beautiful entry lighting and looks as if it might have been original to the house,” Mark notes. And with its tough porcelain enamel finish, this is one American made gooseneck light that will be around for whatever history Key West has in the making!
