Craftsman lights

Craftsman lights that homeowners often select are strictly utilitarian, often featuring a plain rectangular box with maybe at most a T bar overlay. But for those who want to be more adventuresome with a craftsman light there exists a multitudinous selection of creative choices to consider. Many lights are reminiscent of the original fixtures dating from early in the last century, and still others are practically identical to the historic lights, many of whom can still be seen in vintage neighborhoods both upscale and downscale.

Craftsman light lens considerations

a craftsman light of today often offers a wide variety of choices of lenses. These are typically glass, mica, or a plastic representation of glass. With most lighting you don't have to give light output much thought. But with craftsman lights many of the lens choices can have a severe impact on the brightness or dimness of the room Many craftsman lighting lenses can cut down on the light output appreciably. The most notable example is mica, which comes in two varieties, commonly referred to as orange or amber mica, and almond mica. The orange mica light output is so dim you had almost certainly better have some other light source and just consider this extra ambience. The brightest light output is associated with clear glasses such as clear seedy, frosted or etched, or just plain clear. This is often used in post mount craftsman lights along exterior walkways where seeing where you are walking is important. Another good choice for close to maximum light output, but with some artistic flair is white opalescent glass. With slightly less light output gold white iridescent glass with it's rainbow accents is also a popular choice for a craftsman light.

craftsman lighting, wiring

If you are installing craftsman lights in an existing arts and crafts house you are likely to encounter wiring that is in excess of one hundred years old. Don't be surprised if the wiring connecting your craftsman lighting is cloth covered. Many old fixtures have the wiring exposed and so the fabric wire is clearly visible. That kind of wiring should be closely inspected as it is quite possible that over the years it may have deteriorated or even rubbed through to the wire thus presenting a shock or fire hazard. Those fixtures can be rewired with vintage looking cloth wiring. That would be much better looking than to use plastic coated wires which simply lack a great historic look.