Farmhouse lighting fixtures

Farmhouse Lighting – what you need to know

Finding the right lighting for your rustic or modern farmhouse

Finding the right lighting for your rustic or modern farmhouse home is not as easy as it may seem. Unlike pillows and small kitchen canisters, lighting fixtures can not be changed that easily. I have been looking for ages for the perfect fixture for our sun room. On my search to finding the right piece, I came across quite a few pretty models, some of them I have put in the picture gallery below, for your inspiration.

Now, before you go out and buy one of these gorgeous huge pendant fixtures for over your dining room table and kitchen counter (which you should, because they are just really gorgeous) you need to take into consideration what you want the lighting to “do” for you. In our case, we are looking for a light fixture over our dining room table that will add the right amount of light so we can see what we are eating, but not too much either. We want the “mood” of the room to stay relaxed.

The main tasks of lighting fixtures

Back to you! The main tasks of lighting are ambient lighting, task lighting and accent lighting. Most fixtures can handle two of these tasks and still manage to look beautiful, while adding the right amount of light to the space you have put them in.

Ambient lighting is used for the overall lighting of the room. It should be easy on the eyes and bright enough, without being too “offensive”. Ambient lighting can come from a close-to-ceiling mounted light fixture in the center of the room, a number of recessed (in the ceiling) fixtures throughout the room, that gorgeous large farmhouse chandelier/pendant, or any other combination of lighting that provides the general illumination.

Task lighting helps you do what you want, safely and without eye strain. Some areas of the room, like your kitchen, may need additional lighting. Under-cabinet lighting, for example, can help you better see the food you want to prepare. Sconces by the bathroom mirror, often called bathroom vanity lighting, will help you get ready and look beautiful so you can go out and conker the world! A desk lamp, or a lamp by a comfy chair will help you read and work.

Accent lighting is used to add some drama to a space. These types of lighting are used to highlight for example the texture of a beautiful wall (or the accent wall with that petty rustic farmhouse sign) and in you cabinets to show off your pretty farmhouse finds.

Types of Lighting Fixtures

Some of the most popular farmhouse lighting fixture types include pendants, chandeliers,  close-to-ceiling fixtures, sconces and  portable lamps.

Pendants, chandeliers and ceiling-mounted fixture can be used for both ambient and task lighting. And since Fixer Upper the pendants and chandeliers fixtures are back into everybody’s mind (and house).

Sconces are often used for task lighting (think bathroom vanity) and accent lighting.

Portable lighting is very versatile, as it can take care of ambient, task and accent lighting while giving you the flexibility to move the light wherever you want as table lamps and floor lamps can be moved around the house whenever you feel the need to do so. That makes them an ideal decor item, as you can adjust your lighting needs to the seasons and swap the fixtures according to your summer and winter decor needs.

There is also the light output/lumen and the energy (in watts) used by the bulbs to take into consideration, but I will not bore you with that in this article. If you are interested in this, I found this article from HGTV quite informative.

A selection of pretty farmhouse lighting fixtures.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I have put together a selection of some of the most beautiful farmhouse lighting fixture I found on the internet during my search for our sun room fixture. These rustic fixtures can be bought from your favorite brands and retailers, like Pottery Barn, Wayfair, Birch Lane, Amazon and Target. Of course, as always, I have also found some gems on Etsy.

How is it looking at your place? Want to share your lighting fixtures with my readers and me? You can leave a comment below or follow me on Instagram (@rusticcountryfarmhousefinds) and tag me, I will be sure to check out your post!

You can click on each of the pictures below, which will then take you directly to the products page, where you can buy the item. When you use these links to purchase something, I will get a small commission from the shop owners, at no extra cost to you. This way I am able to help support my family financially a bit, so thank you very much for that!

Want to be included?

Are you making some beautiful farmhouse lighting fixtures yourself and want to be included in this selection? Just write me an email and I will see what I can do.

 

 

2 thoughts on “Farmhouse Lighting – what you need to know”

  1. Diana

    Liebe Marie Louise,
    du hast wirklich wunderschöne Lampen ausgesucht!

    Reply
    1. Marie-Louise

      Dankeschön, liebe Diana!! Glad you like them!

      Reply
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