The last post in my exterior makeover series is about lighting! Finding the right light fixture is like scoring anew favourite pair of earrings in the clearance section. So to help you get that same feeling, I’ve written-up a post about choosing MCM exterior lighting: what you need to know.
See the completed MCM Exterior Makeover
* Troy Lighting sponsored this post, but all thoughts are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make PMQ for two possible.
Choosing MCM Exterior Lighting
I get it, good light fixtures are expensive. But so is buying two or three sets for cheap or at a compromise, until you find the right one. I spent quite a while trying to figure out which ones I wanted for our home.
See how far we got in renovating our house during the first year
I feel like I’m always treading the line between trendy and cool, and something that will stand the test of time and eventual new owners. Not easy.
How to get the MCM look
Much like with all of the home renovation process, I’m trying to bring the home from mid century, to mid century modern. So the exterior lighting has to fit the style of our house, not just retro vibes.
I pulled 4 fixtures from the Troy Lighting exterior collection that all fit the bill for MCM Exterior Lighting, but as you can see I’ve paired them with different houses based on their architectural features.
1 | Mariden | 2 | Tisoni| 3 | Blink | 4 | Darwin
Complimentary Architectural Features
You want your exterior lighting to compliment the style of your home. You can play with contradiction or you can be complimentary, but I find it’s best to have functional elements compliment the overall style instead of sit in tension.
With each of the cases above, the lighting compliments the style. In the case of our house, the geometric lines and ribbed glass of the Tisoni are the perfect compliment to our wood and stone siding home.
I had initially thought I wanted something with an orb or circular element, but I think the rigid form of the Tisoni helps separate the interior from the exterior.
Buying New vs. Thrifting
You know I love a good thrift, but I won’t restore or thrift anything that gets plumbed or wired into my house. It’s not worth the risk.
Buying new when it comes to light fixtures that require wiring is the only way to make sure that there won’t be any safety concerns further on down the line.
Hudson Valley Lighting is where I’ve gotten many of the hard-wire fixtures in our home, such as in the kitchen, the principal bedroom, the nursery, and the powder room.
Whole House Concept
Kinda like with doors, the question is: do you buy one style for all your exterior needs? or do you buy a fancy set for the front and put something else by the side door?
Check out my post on buying a new front door
I vote for uniformity. I had the opportunity to put the same fixture around all our exterior doors, so I did. I regret nothing. They completed the exterior makeover in a cohesive way that rivals the paint job.
What’s the weather like?
One final consideration to keep in mind when choosing exterior lighting, is the weather. One of the reasons I opted not to go with an orb or something a little more ornamental, was because I didn’t want ice build-up in the winter potentially wreaking havoc over time, with the integrity of the fixture.
the Tisoni light fixture
If you’ve been following along in the process, you won’t be a stranger to the Tisoni fixture – I’ve had it in the plans since day 1 – but here you get a bit more of a detailed look at it.
surprise Chicken!
