Elements Of Outdoor Wall Lighting Fixtures For A Gothic Style Home
Do you live in a Gothic style home? Are you trying to add some curb appeal that stays true to your home's style and wondering what outdoor wall lighting fixtures would work best on your house? If so, here are three things to keep in mind when searching for Gothic style outdoor lighting.
Height
During the late Medieval period, when Gothic architecture was at its prime, structures were often built narrow and tall to reflect people's hopes of reaching Heaven. These height-to-width proportions can be witnesses on old English churches, where the main bodies of the churches are sometimes greater than twice as tall as they are wide.
When looking for outdoor wall lighting to reflect the Gothic style of your home, look for fixtures that are slender and elongated with pointed finials.
Materials
It was once thought that the use of metal for structural support came along after the Gothic period, and that iron found in structures from the Gothic period was put in place centuries after construction in an effort to preserve deteriorating buildings. However, this thinking was wrong. Builders of the Gothic period did indeed use iron in construction, along with plenty of glass and stones.
When choosing outdoor wall lighting to reflect the Gothic nature of your home, look for fixtures made of wrought or cast iron that have large glass panes.
Luminescence
People of the Gothic period believed that light was divine and, therefore, many buildings were constructed to be as bright as was possible. However, since electricity hadn't been discovered yet, all of this light was of the natural sort.
If you plop the biggest, brightest light bulbs you can find into your Gothic style outdoor lighting fixtures, you're going to ruin the whole effect. When selecting your light bulbs, shoot for 60-watt incandescent, 15-watt compact fluorescent, or 12-watt LED bulbs. In terms of lumens, all of these options are about half as bright as a standard 100-watt bulb but still plenty strong enough to light your walkway or your door's keyhole.
It's also wise to make sure you purchase warm white bulbs instead of bright white or cool white bulbs. The light from warm white bulbs has more yellow color as opposed to white or blue, so your lighting will appear softer, warmer, and more natural.
If you've got a Gothic style house, it should have Gothic style outdoor wall lighting. Use the above tips to find outdoor wall lighting that matches the style of your Medieval-themed home. Click here to learn more about outdoor wall lighting fixtures.
