Over the past few months, Barn Light Electric has had the pleasure of taking you on an in-depth, virtual tour of the Orlando Vision House 2011. To refresh your memory, the Vision House is an energy and cost efficient home built in the College Park neighborhood of Orlando. This home features various ceiling fans and barn lighting from Barn Light Electric Company. By using commercial ceiling fans in common areas, the cooling costs of the Vision House can be reduced by as much as 50%! If that’s not a selling point, then we don’t know what is!

Also featured throughout the home are porcelain barn lights. Take the multiple exterior Goodrich™ Sky Chief Porcelain Gooseneck Lights into account – the baked-on porcelain enamel finish will maintain its barn red color for years to come, resisting the fading effects of the intense Florida sun. The durability of porcelain barn lighting has been revered for years, simply for their ability to transcend time. To bear witness to this, simply check out our collection of Vintage Barn Lights, many of which feature the same porcelain enamel finish.

Another common feature seen on the lighting throughout the Vision House is the use of the ever-popular galvanized finish. The Textile 3 Light Industrial Chandelier is a favorite of ours, as it utilizes industrial elements in a stylish manner. The cast guard and glass strongly resembles the Barn Light Blue Collar Pendants in the open kitchen. This industrial farmhouse look is carried out on the back porch with the red cast guard and frosted jelly jar glass of the Barn Light Outback Warehouse Shade.

The common theme of the Vision House is one that we hope and expect to see more of in the design world. It’s been a long road coming, and we hope that you’ve enjoyed touring this lovely Florida home!

Top Photo Courtesy of Andy Frame Photography

Charles Petersheim is an extremely successful builder and developer in Sullivan County, New York. After the September 11th tragedies, he picked up and left New York City and worked by fixing up a few old barns in the Sullivan County area. Eventually, Charles began designing and building homes that focused on the prevailing “new old” concept. By using local materials within the building process, like creating a driveway from stone that has been grated out of the ground, the homes that Charles and his crew build have become increasingly popular among urbanites wishing to have an escape from the hustle and bustle of the busy city.

With all of the closings, sales, and new constructions, the Catskill Farms team often asks the question, “What recession?” The homes built by the Catskill Farms are ideal for those looking for that dreamy, old American home without having to deal with the renovations and updates required when purchasing typical old country houses. The “new old” homes allow for customization so the intended owners can truly make their Sullivan County home into their dream country home.

And where better to find lighting to match the industrial farmhouse feel? Fortunately, Barn Light Electric is able to supply more than enough options for these new homeowners to choose from. Combined with the salvaged red wood siding and the stained birch countertop in the kitchen, the Barn Light Outback Warehouse Pendant as well as the Barn Light Aztec Sconce provide the ideal ambiance for this country cottage. The wall sconce is mounted on salvaged red barn wood hung over the eight-panel window and farmhouse sink, while the two warehouse pendants linger over the wide plank wood floors. Even if your home isn’t located in the woods of upstate New York, by bringing barn lighting into your home, your home could feel like one of the spacious homes in the Catskill Farms.

Click HERE to order the Grayson Pendant

From five-star restaurants to corner pizzerias, New York City is home to the most popular eateries in the world. In midtown Manhattan, Bill’s Bar and Burger recently opened in Rockefeller Center, one of New York City’s iconic buildings. With nostalgic barn pendants from Barn Light Electric^®, such as the Barn Light Jupiter Pendant and Grayson Pendant, Bill’s Bar & Burger successfully blends in with surrounding historic stores and offices on Ninth Avenue.

Bill’s Bar & Burger owner, Steve Hanson, named the two story establishment after a favorite restaurant from his childhood. To keep the rustic look of a classic American diner, designers chose a simple and modest layout for the restaurant. A cozy setting and critically acclaimed burgers have helped Bill’s emerge as a rival to established favorite burger joints in the area.

Above you’ll notice that our Grayson Pendants were added into the design over the bar area. These small warehouse-like shades boast the same unique characteristics of our larger Outback Warehouse Shades. A distinctive cast guard is placed in the center of each shade allowing decorative light to fan across the top of the shade as well as directing adequate lighting to seating below. The Grayson Pendant can be used alone or grouped together to create a one of a kind dining experience in an exceptional establishment.

The barn pendants pictured below were ordered in an 18″ black shade. Jupiter Pendants start at $279 and are an ideal lighting choice for commercial and restaurant use. The short, wide shade design allows for a large amount of directed light to be focused down on tables or work spaces below. The overall design mirrors that of the Barn Light Deep Bowl Shade, yet the neck of the Jupiter Pendant has an elegant, rib-like design to add texture and uniqueness its appearance.

Click HERE to order the Jupiter Pendant

For more examples of restaurant lighting, see our related blog posts:

Brooklyn Soda Fountain Shop Adds Pendants & Gooseneck Shades: Restoring the soda fountain shop required a few special touches to revive a place that sat vacant for more than a decade. Schoolhouse Pendants from Barn Light Electric^® were added at the front counter and other areas of the store.

Restaurant Pendant Lighting For Intimate Spaces: Lighting will set the overall mood of your restaurant – upscale, relaxed, or formal. Regardless of the mood, today’s photos show that by placing pendants over individual tables, you create a personalized, separate area for each party in your restaurant. Two Schoolhouse Wall Sconces hang on the back wall next to the mirrors sit.

Ever since the incorporation of the washing machine into the home, the rooms that store these 20th century wonders have become, without a doubt, the most neglected area of any home.  This room is usually closed off due to the unsightly combination of dirty clothes, cleaning products, and aged décor that dates back to the original construction of the home.  A drab patchwork of bisque and off white gloss paints often line the walls of older laundry rooms, giving a dated appearance without the use of a warm pallet of colors or modern convenience.  This becomes more noticeable through the use of inadequate flush mount or pendant lighting, which can often lead to a dimly lit room full of dark spots and gaps in light coverage.

With this type of thought waning, many homebuilders and remodelers are adopting a new attitude towards laundry rooms.  This small space is devoid of many furnishings, making it ideal to create a uniquely decorated space from blank walls and mundane settings.  One element that has led to this change in thought is the creation of aesthetically appealing washer and dryer appliances, these streamlined machines offer some inspiration in the revamping of many laundry rooms through their sleek lines and colorful finish options.

Inspired by this new line of thinking, this latest blog post from The Polished Pebble captures the steps needed to create a modern nautical themed laundry room with added style.  Based around a vintage sailors uniform, this interesting laundry room displays added charm through the use of warm, naturally colored baskets that find themselves suspended from the wall by their handles.  This added touch of detail ends up tying in with the birch wood sink stand, allowing for a rich and vibrant appearance to work its way from ceiling to floor.

The cohesive elements of this room carry over into lighting; to further accentuate this laundry room the use of a galvanized Outback Pendant provides ample light, while allowing the mix of grays to work together with the stainless appliances and chrome faucet.  This not only provides a matching finish, but it creates a cohesive décor, tying in a nautical theme through the use of a cast guard and glass.  This stylish characteristic not only provides a unique variation to the traditional RLM, but it also allows the Outback Pendant to issue a wide dispersion of atmospheric lighting throughout the room.  This perfect blend of function and form not only sets this room apart from other laundry rooms, but it also assures that you will definitely leave a lasting impression on anyone viewing your home.

One of the most dominant concerns for the general public and builders that deal with either residential or commercial lighting projects is the concern over meeting Dark Sky compliance in exterior applications.  Due to various residential grievances filed in the past over preserving natural light levels in many suburban areas, the issuing of these Dark Sky lighting codes hope to reduce the complaints that many homeowners may have.  To meet these requirements a light fixture must project light downward without releasing lighting upward into the atmosphere or outward past the intended projected path.  Lighting that allows escape of light upwards can often be glaring or distracting to other residents due to the amount of light that encroaches upon other buildings and windows.  To fit within these specific guidelines, Barn Light Electric has a large selection of warehouse shades, sconces, post mount lights, and path lights that meet the specific requirements needed to be considered Dark Sky compliant.  The main benefit of using one of our products is the assurance that most standard fixtures will be compliant with this code, however, due to certain designs or added cast guard units, the risk for noncompliance is increased.  With this in mind, consider viewing a light fixture from the side; if you cannot see the bulb then you will most likely be compliant with any Dark Sky ordinance.  An example of this is the Original Warehouse Shade, which uses the outer bowl to conceal the light produced by the bulb, providing a focused collection of light downward.  In contrast to this, one of our light fixtures that would be an example of a Dark Sky non-compliant light fixture would be the Outback Warehouse Shade.  This light is identified by an open cast guard unit that is incorporated into the upper portion of the shade, which makes this shade non-compliant due to the releasing of light outward into the night sky.  This is not a large concern for rural communities, but can be an issue for densely populated areas that desire to cut down on light pollution at night.  If fighting light pollution is a concern for your area, check out our large selection of Dark Sky compliant light fixtures to choose from at Barn Light Electric.

We’ve been getting a lot of mainstream attention lately due to the unparalleled quality of the lighting products that we offer, and the large selection of choices available to our customers.  In addition to our products being featured in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and the latest write up in Country Living Magazine, our reputation has spread further thanks to our friends in the blogosphere.  It’s always great to hear the impression that our lighting fixtures have on people, and we appreciate the time that they take out of their day to write those opinions down.  Recently we received a glowing review from Cactus Creek Daily, a blog and store in Weston, Missouri that connects consumers, merchants, artist, and designers with a love for everything western inspired.  When Cactus Creek was setting up their store, they had a need for some lighting that would reflect the rustic feel of the items featured in their store.  With a flair for the eclectic the obvious choice for the stores lighting need was the 16” Outback Pendant in powder coat rust with a galvanized cast guard surrounding a clear glass.  Not only is this shade an American made product, but its unique blend of historical influence is borrowed from early barn shades, featuring a modified cast guard unit to merge industrial styles with this classic from.  This light was a perfect fit for the hardwood floors and dark wood walls, providing the ideal blend between rustic and shabby chic décor.  If your in the market for nostalgic Wild West atmosphere, or enjoy western fashion then check out the Cactus Creek Store and Blog to see the greatest selection of western inspired home furnishings, gifts, clothes, jewelry and so much more!

Common sense would dictate that if you have two popular shades, than you could borrow elements from both of them to create a new shade.  Most of the time the combination renders a light fixture that does not work well aesthetically, but that is not the case with the Barn Light Outback Radial Wave Pendant.  By combining the distinct styling elements from the Outback Warehouse Shade and Radial Wave Shade we were able to achieve a design that is stunning and unlike anything else.  The Outback Radial Wave features a cast guard and glass unit that is paired with the unmistakable shade of the Radial Wave to develop an unique design.  With the exposed glass over the shade, uplighting is achieved.  Even though light is exposed through an upward opening, light is able to be cast downward by the addition of a shade.  This feature creates an ambient glow that truly showcases the beauty of this one of a kind light.  Even though this light has borrowed industrial and rustic influences, it maintains its own identity and can be used in either setting without endangering the integrity of any particular theme.  In fact, the Outback Radial Wave Pendant creates a versatile look and class of its own that would even fit in a decorative marine theme.  Experience the welcome glow that this innovative pendant offers, and enjoy this finely crafted light for years to come.