Start with Lighting: The Rule That Changed Our Renovation
Learn why lighting decisions must come before paint, furniture, or flooring in any renovation — especially in a historic home with 10-foot ceilings.
Bathroom Pendant Lighting: The Mistake We Almost Made (And What We Chose Instead)
Michelle Wharton shares what went wrong in their historic bathroom pendant lighting plan, what they chose instead, and the specific fixtures that finally worked.
Bauhaus Pendant Light: The Style We Kept Coming Back To (And Why)
Michelle Wharton explains why bauhaus lighting kept winning in her 1890s Charleston home — and which bauhaus pendant lights she'd actually recommend for historic interiors.
Our Favorite Fixtures for 10-Foot Ceilings
If your home has 10-foot ceilings and you're buying fixtures designed for 8-foot ceilings, your house is going to look like an afterthought.
Lighting the Piazza: A Charleston-Specific Challenge
In Charleston, the side porch is called a piazza. It's a defining feature of the single house — a long, narrow porch that runs the full leng
The Dining Room Chandelier That Changed the Whole Room
We had a builder-grade flush mount in the dining room for eight months. It worked, technically. But every time I sat down for dinner I felt
Getting Sconce Placement Right in a Narrow Hallway
Our main hallway is 48 inches wide and 32 feet long. It's the spine of the house. For the first year, we had a single overhead fixture at on
Buy the Bigger Pendant
The most consistent mistake I see in historic homes: the pendant light that's too small for the room. Here's why it happens and what to do i
How to Layer Light in a Small Historic Room
The hardest room in the house to light well is the small one. Large rooms are forgiving — you have space for multiple sources, different hei
Why Old Ceilings Are Actually Better for Lighting
Everyone who visits our house comments on the ceilings first. Plaster medallions, 10-foot height, hairline cracks that took us three rounds
Mudroom Lighting: Practical, Durable, and Not Ugly
The mudroom is not the place to spend money on statement fixtures. It is the place to spend money on practical ones.
The Right Height for a Kitchen Island Pendant
This question comes up more than any other. Here's the answer.
Lighting a Small Historic Bedroom Without Making It Feel Smaller
Small rooms have a lighting paradox: they need enough light to function, but too much overhead light makes them feel like the inside of a ca
When to Use a Statement Pendant in a Historic Home
A statement pendant in the wrong room reads as imported. In the right room, it looks like it was always supposed to be there. The difference