Historic Mining Town Perfect Home for Rustic Industrial Neighborhood
Back in the late 1800s, Creede, Colorado, was a booming mining town with mercantiles, saloons, gambling joints, and boarding houses filled with thousands of prospectors seeking their fortunes. Fast forward 120 years and the town has quieted down a bit from the frenetic atmosphere of the Gold Rush. Today, residents number in the hundreds, not thousands, and enjoy the town’s rich history with mining tours, a museum, and plenty of outdoor activities in the picturesque San Juan mountains.
Beautiful homes with stunning views have replaced ramshackle boarding houses. One of the newest neighborhoods, called Creede America, features homes with a classic Western aesthetic coupled with modern amenities and energy-efficient construction.
Architect Avery Auger, one of the principals of Creede America, recently worked with a client to create a home with a blend of both rustic and modern touches. When the team began their search for lighting, Barn Light Electric popped up in an online search.
“Since Creede is an old mining town, the classic industrial style really lent itself to the language of what we wanted to see in the final design for this home,” Avery says. “Having plenty of options was the primary driver in our search for lighting.”
The open floorplan features a kitchen on one end and the living space on the other. A high, vaulted ceiling crafted from wood adds warmth while plenty of windows bring natural light and offer scenic views. Over the sink, the team selected the Lafayette SoHo Sconce customized with a powder coat Black finish.
“We thought these are just a really great, funky fixture that capture the industrial vibe we wanted without feeling too heavy handed,” Avery explains. These handcrafted sconces feature a 5″ shade with a rugged industrial pipe mounting and more than 30 finish colors to choose from.
For the center island, the team searched for a larger fixture to help ground the space beneath the high ceiling. The American-made Wilcox Deep Bowl Gooseneck Light, which is available in eight shade sizes ranging from 8″ to 24″, fit the space perfectly. The homeowner chose a 16″ shade with a Black powder coat finish, and a G22 gooseneck arm.
“We wanted a slightly larger fixture here to give a little more oomph and emphasis to ground the island,” Avery notes. “The shape certainly attracted us to the Wilcox.” The team liked the fixture so much that they chose two Wilcox Uplight Stem Mount Pendants for each end of the large open space. These two pendants feature 18″ handspun shades with an opening at the top to allow light to escape. The customizing options also include the same Black powder coat finish and 48″ stems.
“Given the ceiling height, we wanted a fixture that had some heft and size so it wouldn’t get lost in the space,” Avery says. “And we wanted to make sure we had a little light spilling out of the top to help illuminate the ceiling.”
For the master bedroom, two Primary Schoolhouse Pendant Lights, customized with large clear glass, provide plenty of light and style without competing with the bold wallpaper. These cord-hung fixtures easily mount to the sloped ceiling with a standard canopy.
“We felt that these fixtures just went with the whole spirit of the bedroom and the wallpaper,” Avery notes. In the guest bedroom, more vibrant wallpaper called for thoughtful lighting choices. The team selected the Avalon Pendant Light with a compact 8″ shade to bring illumination to the bedside with focused downlighting. These handcrafted, RLM-style pendants feature an Industrial Grey finish and brown-and-beige chevron twist cords for added texture and color.
“These pendants worked with the wallpaper and other choices for this space,” Avery says. “The homeowner is thrilled with all of the lights. This was our first project where we used a lot of Barn Light Electric fixtures. And Barn Light has been our go-to ever since.”
Photos courtesy of Creede America
