A Really Good, Modern Exterior Fixture for under $20

Well, we haven't painted the brick yet, but this week, we did make a tiny (both in price and in size) update that made the front of our home a little more visually appealing.

The light that's just about over my head in the photo above used to be an outdated brass number (see below) that is not uncommon on homes, but not attractive either. What made the situation worse, was the location of the light. I'm not sure why they opted to install the fixture 6 feet away from the front door to start with, but it has made finding something that will work there a little challenging.

It needed to be something that didn't protrude too far, didn't hang too low, and didn't draw too much attention to itself. We also hoped for something a little more modern since the front of our home looks pretty traditional and we love to mix modern and traditional inside.

We came across this matte black wall lantern while shopping at Lowe's and it was a whopping $19. We couldn't put it in our cart fast enough.

It reminds me a lot of this one from Rejuvenation that I've been eyeing for this spot, but there are some distinct differences like the size, the quality, and this $19 version is only opened at the bottom.

I was impressed that the Lowe's version came with a bulb, however, it was pretty small and a very cold color (if you've listened to Ep. 13 of our Podcast, you know I am kind of particular about my light bulbs), so we picked up a different one for about $8--which we also found at Lowes.

A few things I look for in a lightbulb are:

1. The Kelvin Color. Around 2000K will give you a really orangey glow light. And closer to 5000K will give you a bluish tint--"daylight bulbs" are kind of known for that. My favorite Kelvin color is right around 2700-3500K. It seems to be a bright white without being too cold or too warm. You'll find a scale on every bulb box.

2. Wattage. Most fixtures tell you a maximum wattage that the light can handle. In this light's case, it was 65W or a 13W equivalent. Since it was an outdoor light, I wanted to get as much power as it could handle, but this was as close as I could get. Have you ever gone over the recommended wattage? What even happens if you're dealing with LEDs like this? How could a light handle 65W but not over a 13W equivalent? (Should have sprung for the 75W)

3. The last thing I look for is the lumens which tells us how bright the light is going to be. 800 is my favorite Lumens. But if it is a bare bulb indoors, you might want to go down on the lumens.

I would say the install was relatively easy with one hiccup--the holes in the junction box didn't line up with the holes on the mounting plate, so Chris had to drill an extra hole. Worth it.

This light plays a really good supporting role to our main fixtures on either side of the garage (these) and does a good job lighting the stairs. But, in the future, we'd love to add a ceiling fixture right above the front door for additional light. For now, and for $19, I can't express how excited I am to not see that little brass guy when walking up to the front door.