Updating our Front Porch with Wayfair!
Gretchen Rose
For the front porch update I have been lucky enough to partner with Wayfair! Read on to see what I selected for the porch.
One of the first things on my project list for this house was updating the front porch lighting. I am ALL ABOUT vintage- but unfortunately not the 1989 exterior lantern variety. The existing lights were bronze, blended into the rose toned brick, and were overall lackluster. I wanted something with some presence to match the scale of our front door!
Before: see how the lights disappear against the brick?
When starting my search for exterior lighting (first timer here) I wasn’t even sure what size to get. The existing lights seemed too small, but when I taped out much larger options they looked way too big! I’m going to share a photo of the original lights- you can see how much of the fixture is actual “light/glass” versus how much is scrollwork details etc (that just disappeared against the brick). Turns out, the overall dimensions of the existing fixtures worked perfectly for the front of the house- they just looked too small since the glass portion was about 70% of the overall height. I strongly recommend taping out a few different sizes so that you get it right the first time!
These were around 22” tall, 3” of detailing below the glass portion and 7” above the glass portion = appearance of being too small.
Time to Shop: I wanted to find a relatively traditional and classic option to replace these bad boys- and I knew I wanted black. Wayfair has always been a go-to for lighting and decor, so I went straight to Wayfair and typed in “exterior lantern sconce” in the search bar to get started. You can easily apply filters (color, dimensions, price range etc.) to narrow down your search!
I came up with a few favorites and added them all to my cart so that I wouldn’t “lose them”- that is when I started taping out dimensions on the brick. This step truly made the decision for me! Although Wayfair had several beautiful options that would work style wise, one was certainly the stand out winner thanks to the dimensions. I selected the “Sona Black Aluminum Wall Light” (here) which holds 3 bulbs and is 24” tall.
This is the Sona Aluminum Wall Light that I selected for our front porch! Linked here.
Some of my other favorites:
Crawley Aluminum Wall Light here. Ideal if you are looking for a lantern around 21” tall.
Alondra Wall Light here. This comes in 16” and 18” if you need a shorter option!
Wym Wall Light here. This is another classic look, but doesn’t have the scroll work at the top in case you want a more minimalist look.
Once the lights arrived, my uncle came to help us install them (pregnant Gretchen has no business on a ladder). My uncle is a contractor in my hometown so I have entrusted him on MANY projects around the house! I feel lucky to have him!
We love the 3 lights- they provide so much lighting at night!
closeup
Once the lights were installed, I was motivated to make the front porch more inviting. My uncle installed a storm door (yay natural light) and a brass kickplate. Then we grabbed a couple of urns and plants from a local nursery, a new doormat, and ta-da! Welcome to the Rose Home!
New lights!!!
We liked our front porch before, but we absolutely love it now. It is more welcoming, offers more curb appeal and just feels like home. It is hard to believe we will be standing on this porch in just a month or so with our new baby! Christmas photos, anyone?!?!
I want to send a huge THANK YOU to Wayfair for making this update possible- a new home and baby on the way means lots of projects and we truly appreciate the opportunity to work with Wayfair on this front porch project! Stay tuned for the rest of the exterior update!
xo,
Gretchen