When we revealed our kitchen makeover, we mentioned collaborating with Shades of Light to design our pendant lights. Those pendants were just one piece of a much larger update to our lighting collection over the past year. Along with sharing the latest designs, we wanted to pull back the curtain on product photography—how catalogs and websites stage and shoot lighting (including how we once turned an armchair into a headboard to get the right shot).
After launching our initial collection in 2013, we gradually added new pieces—like a geometric flush mount we used in our laundry room remodel—but the recent wave of designs began when we wanted softer colors for a spec house kitchen. Our existing farmhouse pendant shades were too bold for that project, so we asked Shades of Light to custom-paint a couple in a softer blue. That small request quickly turned into a wider refresh: why not update all the colorways so everyone could choose a softer option?
Now our farmhouse pendant comes in neutral tones like soft gray and warm brown, as well as subtle pink, green, and blue options. The original bolder colors—teal, red, green, yellow and watermelon pink—are still available for those who prefer more saturated hues. Best of all, many of these pendants remain budget-friendly.
Expanding the color palette inspired other fresh ideas: we explored geometric and open-frame shapes and introduced new finishes including brass/gold tones. That led to a family of coordinating pieces—sconces, lanterns, ceiling lights, and pendants—so it’s easier to mix and match finishes and forms throughout a home.
We also dove into gold and copper looks and made sure to offer different hanging options. Whether you need a flush mount, a sconce, a ceiling light, or a pendant, the goal was to give flexible choices so the same design language can appear across different rooms and ceiling heights.
Our metal kitchen pendants are now offered in multiple colors and are “convertible fixtures”: remove the hanging rods to use them as semi-flush mounts for hallways, bathrooms, closets, or mudrooms where a long pendant won’t work. We also experimented with glass and chrome pendants and flush mounts to broaden the collection’s aesthetic options.
We added several new fabric shades, each offered in multiple colorways. Some patterns include subtle textures, giving a tactile element that reads well in photos and in-person. These shades are available as pendants with diffusers, flush mounts with diffusers (great for lower ceilings), or as standalone shades for retrofitting an existing lamp or creating a DIY fixture.
Many of the new pieces remain affordable—still within or near the original $99-and-under price point—but we also expanded beyond that range to introduce larger sizes and higher‑end materials that weren’t feasible before. That allowed us to add features like diffusers and multi‑bulb options while keeping most items under $150.
One favorite is a $90 adjustable arm wall sconce offered in a mixed black-and-aged-gold finish and an all‑chrome version. It’s also available as a plug‑in sconce, which makes it easy to install in a bedroom without hardwiring—perfect for renters or quick upgrades.
Last spring, once the finished pieces and prototypes arrived, Shades of Light invited us to help photograph the new collection for their catalog and website. They’d just moved into a larger Richmond facility and built a dedicated photo studio. It was fascinating to see how styling and shooting are done in a professional space.
The studio uses movable walls on casters, each with different treatments—tile, beadboard, shiplap, paint colors, windows, and other architectural details—so they can assemble many distinct room scenes without traveling. They even use removable baseboard strips to hide the caster gaps, making each set look seamless in the final images.
The studio stocked cabinets and props to quickly build kitchen scenes. Once a set was dressed and styled, we swapped in all variations of a light—sometimes tweaking styling as we went—while the photographer captured each configuration.
Because the facility was newly opened, a few pieces were still being finalized, so we used creative solutions on set. For example, a lamp base that wasn’t wired yet was powered from above just for the shot; the cord was edited out in post production to make the light appear perfectly integrated.
We even improvised a headboard using a tufted chair back and a bolt of fabric before the proper prop furniture arrived. From up close the setup looked homemade, but with careful framing and cropping the final photo convincingly read as a bedroom vignette.
Shooting the collection felt like creating small fantasy scenes to showcase how the lights could live in real homes. It was also fun to sift through the studio’s prop furniture—John particularly loved a comfy chair that felt like “a hug.”
You can browse the full collection on Shades of Light’s website. Many items are available in several finishes, colors, and configurations (sconces, pendants, flush mounts, etc.), so there’s flexibility to suit different spaces. If you’ve purchased one of the pieces and have a photo of it in your home, we’d love to see it—tag us or send a picture so we can admire it in its natural habitat.
PS: Last year we also filmed six short DIY videos for a free app called DIYZ. Each project takes five steps or fewer and covers things like making a paneled headboard, an outdoor house number plaque, a twine-wrapped shelf with leather brackets, a wall-hanging recipe and photo display, a wooden centerpiece box, and a wood frame to upgrade a basic bathroom mirror. Search “YHL” in the app to watch them.