Vintage Wall Lights

Which era of vintage wall light suits your home?

Vintage spans several periods, so decide which you are after before you look at finishes. Many of our vintage wall lights lean traditional, with the feel of a Victorian or Edwardian room, and many lean industrial, with the plainer look of a factory or workshop. There are also some art deco designs, some mid-century ones and a few rustic ones.

In an older house, match the era to the building loosely: a terrace with high ceilings and cornicing takes brass and glass easily, and an interwar semi suits art deco. Where the house has no strong period, many of these sit just as well in a modern scheme.

How much bulb should a vintage wall light show?

A wall light sits near eye level, so you look at the bulb, or whatever covers it, far more than you would with a ceiling light. Many of our vintage wall lights have a clear finish, which leaves the bulb on show as part of the design; that works where you pass by or sit at a distance, as in a hall. Some use frosted or ribbed glass to blur the bulb into a glow, and many have fabric shades for the softest light.

Beside a sofa or a bed, where you face the fitting for hours, choose a shade or obscured glass. Crystal, which we stock in many designs, needs a clear bulb to sparkle, so it is best on a wall you look at from across the room.

Bulb caps and filament shapes for vintage wall lights

Most of our vintage wall lights take an E27 bulb and many take the smaller E14, and the cap decides which filament bulbs you can use. E27 covers the large globes, teardrops and tubes that suit clear glass; E14 filament bulbs tend to be candles and small globes, which sit well in a narrow shade. Some take a G9 capsule, compact enough to tuck inside a slim fitting, and a few have a built-in LED, so there is no bulb to choose.

Decorative filament bulbs often run large, so check the bulb's length against the depth of the shade and stay within the fitting's maximum wattage. For the period glow choose warm white or amber; cool white in brass and glass looks clinical.

Matching vintage wall lights to the metal already in the room

Brass is the finish you will see most often here, and many come in silver, black, gold, white or bronze, with a few in nickel. In an older house, let the metal already on show decide: door handles, curtain poles, radiator valves and especially the switch plate on the same wall. Warm brass above a chrome switch looks like an oversight, so match them or change the plates when the lights go up.

Black and bronze are the easiest finishes to mix, sitting with brass, oak and painted panelling alike. Silver suits cool grey and blue schemes, and a white finish nearly disappears on a pale wall, leaving the shape to carry the look.

Sizing vintage wall lights to an alcove, chimney breast or hall

Most of our vintage wall lights are single-light fittings, many are twin-light, and a few carry more lamps than that. Many are small and many medium, with a few large pieces. A small single light suits an alcove, a landing or the wall beside a bed; a twin-light fitting holds its own on a chimney breast or a long dining room wall, where a small one looks lost.

Period features give you lines to work to: keep the fitting clear of a picture rail, set a pair at equal distances from the centre of the chimney breast, and in a panelled room line the backplates up with the panels.

Fitting vintage wall lights to old walls and in bathrooms

Have a qualified electrician fit any wired wall light. In England and Wales this falls under Part P of the Building Regulations, and jobs such as an extra circuit, or added wiring in a bathroom, must be notified, which a registered electrician can do for you. Lath and plaster or soft lime plaster can crumble when a cable is chased in, so settle the positions before you redecorate.

In a bathroom the rating decides, not the style. Many of our vintage wall lights are rated IP44 and some IP65, the protection the zones near a basin, bath or shower call for, while many are IP20 and belong in dry rooms only. Keep fabric shades out of bathrooms altogether.

How to clean vintage wall lights: glass, fabric and brass

Switch off and let the bulb cool first. Where a glass shade lifts off, wash it by hand in warm soapy water and dry it fully before refitting; a soft brush gets the dust out of ribbed glass. Fabric shades want a lint roller, never water, and crystal comes up bright with a barely damp cloth followed by a dry one.

An aged or antique-effect brass finish is meant to look worn, so dust it with a dry cloth and keep metal polish away, as it strips the patina back to a bright finish that is hard to reverse.