Q: What are your recommendations for sizing and placement of outdoor wall-mounted lanterns around the front entrance of a house?
A: This is a great question because people frequently get size and placement wrong. Homeowners often select an under-scale fixture so that it looks dinky on the house. When you look in a catalog or see a fixture in a lighting showroom, it is very difficult to tell what size is right. My recommendation is to borrow a fixture and try it out on-site. Don’t worry if it is the right finish; just the right scale. Have someone hold it up (as I’m doing with the Hans Duus lantern in this picture) and then go out to the street to look at it (remember to watch for traffic). This will help with selecting the correct scale and the appropriate mounting height in relationship to doors and windows.
Make sure to hold the fixture at the level of where the backplate connects to the junction box, if you are replacing one fixture with another. The power feed isn’t always in the middle of the fixture. If your showroom doesn’t have an actual fixture to borrow, then make a template out of cardboard with the right dimensions. Believe me: It is worth it. And if you don’t feel like doing it, make your kids do it. Child labor laws do not extend to the home.
Q: I love the way clear, beveled glass looks on an outdoor lantern during the day, with a candelabra cluster visible inside, but some styles have too much glare at night. Do you have any tips for cutting the glare factor?
A: Clear or beveled glass can be tricky. I tend to recommend an obscure glass — such as seedy, water or frosted — to help soften the light source, and cut down on the cleaning. With clear glass, if the bulbs are too bright, they just create a visual glare bomb at night. Guests then have to shield their eyes as they approach the front door and end up tripping on the stairs, breaking that lovely bottle of wine they brought. (Personally, I prefer my wine in a box; less chance of breakage.)
Try using low-wattage lamps. If you are looking for energy-efficient and low-maintenance alternatives, I have had good luck with flame-tip CCFLs and flame-tip LEDs. Remember: Lanterns are only supposed to be decorative. It is best to use them in combination with shielded pathway lights or directional fixtures, installed in the trees, to help guide people safely up to the front door.
Q: Do lanterns designed for Dark Sky ordinances provide enough light?
A: No, not by themselves. They need other shielded sources of light as well to get family and friends where they need to go — which for me is out the door and back to their own homes. There is only so much boxed wine to go around.
