Fresh paint and well-chosen light fixtures are two of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to transform interior spaces. If you find yourself on a budget, it pays to consider the long-term value lighting can add to your home. Replacing a light fixture is a perfect opportunity to add or bring back some of your home’s original charm, quality, and character. Here in Portland we have a wealth of local resources that provide... more

You’ve spent months on your kitchen design, agonized over cabinet placement, wood species and finishes, practically became an expert with what you know about stone, but how much time was spent on the lighting? For most kitchens, the electricians made the major decisions for the actual lighting. I have seen many beautiful kitchens fall flat due to poor design or inadequate lighting. By the time I reach the lighting design... more

If you appreciate the look and character of older houses or vintage furnishings, one effective way to enhance the charm and integrity of your home — whether building new, remodeling, or just “freshening” it up — is with period lighting. Yet with over 100 years of lighting styles to choose from, how to find the right fixture? What does period lighting offer that new lighting doesn’t? Should lighting match ... more

Atomic Age Lighting from Rejuvenation For the first time Rejuvenation is offering fixtures that are right at home in a mid-century ranch house, rambler, or split-level, and all home styles that have recently seen their 50th birthday. These are circa 1957 reproductions in every detail except the inexpensive steel or aluminum they were originally constructioned from. Their versions are solid brass. They are available in a more broad and beautiful range of finishes than when first introduced. All Atomic... more

If you’ve never stepped inside Hippo Hardware & Trading Company at 1040 E. Burnside then you owe it to yourself to do so soon. Named one of the “10 best things to do” in Portland by AAA Oregon, Hippo — as it’s affectionately known — has long been a resource for historic and hard-to-find hardware, plumbing, doors and windows, light fixtures, mouldings — just about anything that can be salvaged ... more

Northwest Renovation recently caught up with Schoolhouse Electric’s owner and president, Brian Faherty and general manager, Michelle Steinback. Northwest Renovation’s purpose was to find out how this new period lighting store located on SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Oak Street in , Portland, OR was doing and to learn more about its unique stock. Schoolhouse Electric manufactures glass shades that have been out of production for 50 to 75 years. These glass fixtures were once... more

If lighting is music to the eyes, then lighting fixtures are the instruments playing the tune. Choosing the right ones can go a long way toward creating harmony — and avoiding “off” notes. Just like rock-n-roll calls for drums and guitars while a sonata may be played on a single violin, interiors require fixtures that accurately reflect the composer’s intentions. And you are the composer. Regardless of lighting type – ambient, task, accent, or decorative — all will be... more

In some respects lighting for the home is much like listening to music. What good is a sophisticated music system with poor speakers? Music to your eyes is light. The secret is to have exactly the right light where and when needed. Light bulbs are to lighting what speakers are to music. The light bulb or “lamp” not only has to be in the right place, but so must be the correct brightness and color. Light has all the complexity of music and is an absolute necessity in everyday living. To... more