Installing Vintage Marine Lights

When we built our home 4 years ago we put in some pretty basic and affordable lighting.  I choose some  standard outdoor marine lights for the porches and garage and used the same ones for the hallways/stairways inside, along with some coordinating barn lighting for central areas. Our house has a Scandinavian rustic vibe, so these lights fit in well for the time being.    I was out of cash and out of steam at that point of the project and I really wanted to spend time upgrading to  the right lighting when we  were ready. 

I've recently been revisiting some of the lighting , and when we were in the other Portland (Maine) this summer, I found these amazing brass marine lights in one of my favorite shops,   Blanche  + Mimi.  They have these beautiful, unique, delicate   lines  that are both elegant and rustic at the same time. I  had to have them for our primary staircase.  So, we bought them and carefully shipped them home. 

Once I got them home, I needed some help with installation since these lights weren't going to fit on a standard installation sconce plate.  I took the lights over to Nash Martinez from Current Collection.  His studio is on the second floor of one of my favorite shops in this Portland, Beam & Anchor.  Nash is truly amazing! He's an artist who prides himself in the details of his work.  He gave me some great information on what I needed and where I needed to go to get new plates made...as well as sketched up the new plate, gave me matching brass screws, stripped the wires, and let me use his tools to polish the brass once I got the new plates back from  Profile Laser. Such kindness! And I love talking to artists and craftspeople who are so passionate and knowledgable about what they do!   

After an hour or two wrestling these guys into the wall,  I proved my husband wrong who took one look at this project and told me I needed to call an electrician.  (Fingers crossed the house doesn't burn down.) They look beautiful and I can't wait to coordinate them with some new lighting in some of our other spaces!