The hunt for sconces

We finally removed our truly awful sconces from the entryway to our living and dining room before we painted the room grey, and honestly the exposed wires are a visual upgrade over the original sconces (seen here). Now that the walls are painted, replacing the sconces is next up.

The lighting we’ve been upgrading has tended toward mid-century modern, but the architecture of our house is solidly traditional Colonial, so I’ve been torn on whether to embrace more traditional sconces or those that are more mid-century in aesthetic.

I mocked up how some of the front-runners would look in the space, which helped to visualize how the options would look in scale.

Let’s dig in on the options.

1. The Vendome by Thomas O’Brien for Visual Comfort

This one’s definitely on the more traditional end of the spectrum, but the unlacquered brass and super slim lines bring this sconce into present day. The downside to this one is definitely the price tag, which comes in at nearly $300/sconce. Where, I’d really been hoping to come in at under $200 a piece. That being said, I’ve seen both Emily Henderson and Pencil and Paper Co. do great things with these sconces (I even featured one of those shots in this post).

This sconce in Pencil and Paper Co.’s Nashville home.

2. The Theo Sconce by Cedar and Moss

I love that the orbs play off the white globe pendants in the kitchen and that they bring a lot of light into the space. I’m struggling a bit with whether they’re too mid-century modern for our house, without having a traditional design element (e.g. ceiling medallion) balancing out the style.

I love how Brady Tolbert used these sconces in his LA living room makeover.

3. Rachel Sconce by Dune and Duchess

These sconces would definitely be the splurge and I wanted to see how they’d play in the space. They’re so cool, but I do think they’d pop a lot better on a wallpapered wall.

4. Zigzag Capiz Sconce by West Elm

These sconces are an unexpected contender.They bring a whole new texture into the space but definitely don’t make as big a statement as the other options. That being said, the lights don’t have to be the statement piece if I can up the contrast in other areas (e.g. punchier more graphic pillows, a big statement objet in the right corner like a giant horn)

5. The Vivienne by Triple Seven Home

These are the most budget friendly by far and they’re bringing in both contrast and a traditional meets modern balance. Of course, if we went with this option the lamp and shade on the console would need to be swapped for one of the many other lamps I’ve got stashed away.

I’m still contemplating but am leaning towards #5, not only because of the great price point but also because they nicely straddle the modern meets traditional vibe and tie in nicely with the black stair railing. Any thoughts?