We’ve been keeping a secret for the past 14 months: a collaboration with Shades of Light to design an affordable, playful lighting collection. When they first asked us back in October 2011 if we would help design a line, we jumped at the chance. Our aim was simple but ambitious: create lights that feel casual, cheerful, and, most importantly, stay within a strict price point—keeping the entire collection under $99. We also included a set of $3 decorative add-ons so you can refresh a lamp you already own without spending much.
Working with Shades of Light was a true partnership. While they carry many high-end designs, their team committed to finding ways to reduce costs while maintaining quality—helping us hit that sub-$99 target even for larger fixtures like two-foot-wide chandeliers. They were hands-on throughout the process, and because they are based in Richmond, much of the development and finishing work happened nearby.
Local manufacturing meant we could visit their headquarters often to sketch, test prototypes, sample paint colors, and see the products in real settings—sometimes even in our own home. Many of the fixtures are made, wired, and painted in Virginia before being shipped nationwide. That local connection made the project feel especially rewarding.
These lights have been a fun creative detour amid our usual home projects, writing, and family life. Side projects like this keep us inspired, and we genuinely loved designing pieces that feel like extensions of our style—bright, lighthearted, and practical. In a way, these fixtures have become like our own little babies: we fuss over the details, watch them grow through iterations, and beam when they finally arrive on the scene.
Here are some studio shots of the collection. We photographed many of the final pieces in our home, which was equal parts charming and chaotic: reflectors, clamps, and a few helpful hands standing just out of frame to make everything look effortlessly placed.
One highlight was shooting the finished pieces in situ. For example, a farmhouse pendant is available in several happy colors; the pink version looks especially sweet over the sink. For the photoshoot, one crew member held a pendant just out of view while another fixture was clamped into place, giving the illusion that it was hard-wired—grassroots and full of laughter.
Behind the scenes, catalog photography often relies on big reflectors and practical clamps; what looks pristine in a catalog usually required a little staging. The result, though, shows the fixtures’ true personalities: drum pendants with crisp silhouettes, scallop-shaped lights that feel sculptural, and a large wire globe chandelier that we fell for immediately.
We bought the large wire globe chandelier (two feet wide) as soon as the shoot wrapped—it was priced at $89, a great value for its size and presence. It pairs nicely with the oil-rubbed bronze glass pendants we used nearby, and it’s offered in a range of locally painted finishes like plum, dark teal, white, black, gray, red, and rusty bronze. One charming effect: with a clear bulb, the globe creates patterned shadows on the ceiling; switch to a frosted bulb for a softer glow.
We also developed flexible options for different needs. Some pieces are sold as shades only for use on existing lamp bases, while others come as full pendant kits with canopy hardware ready to hang. One playful addition was a drum shade printed with a chihuahua motif—named for our own Burger—available in several colors. We wanted people to be able to mix and match: use a new shade on a thrifted lamp base, hang a pendant over an island, or accent an existing fixture with a decorative diffuser.
Speaking of diffusers and add-ons: the collection includes sculptural white metal diffusers in patterns like hex and quatrefoil that can be layered under shades for added texture. And the $3 appliques—simple decals that attach to lamp bases—offer a budget-friendly DIY route. Choose bees, numbers, scallops, and more to personalize a lamp. They’re perfect for updating thrift-store finds or adding a quick custom touch to an existing fixture.
We had a lot of fun on this project and shared plenty of laughs along the way. Clara served as an unofficial quality-control inspector, affectionately favoring every piece. Burger, ever the character, once stole a half-loaf of bread during an early meeting—an incident that became one of those household stories we now tell with a smile.
After fourteen months of sketching, sampling, and testing, the collection of lights, shades, and add-ons is finally complete. If you’re not shopping right now, we hope the designs still spark ideas: maybe paint an old pendant, update a shade, or try a small applique for a quick refresh. Thank you to everyone who’s followed us on this journey—this project, like the blog itself, exists because of your support. We’re grateful and excited to share these pieces with you.