Add An Antique Porch Light To Your Home
For those who are interested in adding ambiance to a home through the use of antique lighting fixtures, it is important to remember that while there are many interior light fixtures that will fit the bill, there are also some very lovely exterior fixtures that will add a wonderful vintage look to a porch or out building.
While interior light fixtures can come in a variety of designs, locations, and materials, the antique porch light is almost always American-made and constructed from brass or wrought iron. Interior lamps might be Italian, Chinese, British, American or German. Often, they are wooden, brass, or copper, with lampshades made of mica, glass or metal. It is not uncommon to see these antiques in many different models, such as student lamps, torchiere fixtures, and student lamps. What are considered to be carriage lamps are often now repurposed as antique porch light fixtures.
The carriage lamps of olden days are still available today, in part because they were very well constructed and made from very durable materials (usually cast iron, sometimes brass, and occasionally, copper). Any of those three metals are extremely long lasting.
The brass and copper varieties are usually refurbished with simple polishing and buffing. The glass panels of these antique porch light fixtures are easily replaced if needed. The vast majority of all antique porch light fixtures are made of cast iron. Since cast iron is intended to be painted, they are easily refurbished with some simple sanding and a coat of paint, which is almost always a matte black color.
Most of the antique porch light fixtures that one will find in an antique store or on the 'Net have been rewired and are safe (and ready for immediate use). Should a buyer find an antique porch light fixture at a yard sale or flea market, the wiring should be checked (and most probably replaced) before the fixture is installed.
Should the glass panels in the globe need replaced, it is best to check with an antiques refurbisher (or with a 'Net site that specializes in the same), since they can supply the owner with glass that is most like the original glass (that is to say, not quite clear, and not completely without spots, imperfections, and waves).
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