Elevate Your Home with Young House Love & Shades of Light: A Deep Dive into Our Latest Lighting Collection & Photoshoot Secrets
Transforming a house into a home often hinges on the details, and nothing quite sets the mood and style like thoughtfully chosen lighting. We’re thrilled to share an in-depth look at our evolving lighting collection, a collaboration with the esteemed Shades of Light that has grown significantly over the past year. Beyond just unveiling striking new designs, we’re taking you behind the curtain, offering exclusive insights into the captivating world of product photography – including a clever trick where we transformed an ordinary armchair into a sophisticated headboard, all in pursuit of that perfect shot!
From the moment we revealed our bright white kitchen remodel, the buzz around our specially designed metal convertible pendant lights with Shades of Light was undeniable. These stylish fixtures, perfect for modern and classic interiors alike, were just a glimpse into the extensive range of additions to our collection. We believe that good lighting is not just functional; it’s an essential element of interior design that can dramatically alter the ambiance and aesthetic of any space.
The Evolution of Our Signature Lighting Collection: From Farmhouse Flair to Modern Metallic
Our journey with Shades of Light began back in 2013 with the launch of our initial collection. Over the years, we’ve thoughtfully introduced new pieces, such as the elegant geometric flush mount that beautifully complemented our laundry room remodel. This latest expansion, however, was born from a specific design challenge: integrating one of our beloved $69 farmhouse pendants into a spec house kitchen. The existing color palette, while vibrant, proved too bold for the serene aesthetic we envisioned.
This challenge sparked a brilliant idea. We reached out to Shades of Light to custom-paint two pendants in a softer blue hue. The result was so captivating that a collective realization hit: “Why not refresh the entire color range so everyone can enjoy these versatile options?” This decision set in motion a complete re-imagining of our popular farmhouse pendant line.
Now, our highly sought-after farmhouse pendants are available in an array of neutral options, including a sophisticated soft gray and a warm, inviting brown. We’ve also introduced subtle pink, green, and blue pastels, perfect for adding a gentle pop of color. For those who love a bolder statement, rest assured that all the original vibrant colors like teal, red, emerald green, sunny yellow, and watermelon pink are still available. Best of all, these timeless and versatile pendants remain incredibly affordable, priced at just $69, making designer style accessible to everyone.
Expanding Horizons: Geometric Forms and Rich Metallics
The success of the refreshed farmhouse pendant colors inspired us to push creative boundaries further. We delved deeper into geometric forms and open frame designs, introducing new sophisticated finish options, particularly in the realm of brass and gold. These pieces are designed to be statement-makers, blending modern aesthetics with classic appeal.
Our commitment to versatility is evident in the range of fixtures, ensuring there’s a perfect light for every corner of your home. Explore our diamond sconce, ideal for hallways or bedside lighting; the elegant diamond lantern, perfect for entryways or dining spaces; the practical diamond ceiling light for ambient illumination; and the striking equilateral pendant, designed to draw the eye and elevate your decor. These pieces offer a fresh take on modern lighting, integrating seamlessly into various interior styles.
We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the lustrous world of gold and copper, ensuring our new offerings included diverse hanging options. Whether your space demands a sleek flush mount, a series of elegant sconces, a captivating ceiling light, or a dramatic pendant, we’ve meticulously covered all bases. Each fixture is crafted to provide not just light, but a touch of artistry to your home. Discover the warmth of our copper glass pendant, the playful charm of the oopsy daisy ceiling light, the unique character of our wonky glass designs, and the reflective beauty of the mercury glass pendant. These selections promise to add a layer of sophistication and individuality to any room.
Ingenious Design: Convertible Pendants and Versatile Shades
Our popular metal pendants, which you might recognize from our kitchen remodel, are now available in six captivating colors. A standout feature of these fixtures is their “convertible” design. This means you have the flexibility to omit the hanging rods, transforming them into semi-flush mounts. This ingenious adaptability makes them perfect for spaces where a long, dangling pendant isn’t ideal, such as hallways, bathrooms, closets, or mudrooms. This allows you to achieve a cohesive design aesthetic throughout your home, regardless of ceiling height or room function. We also had fun experimenting with several new glass and chrome pendants and flush mounts, adding a touch of contemporary elegance to the collection.
To further enhance personalization, we’ve introduced a delightful array of new fabric shades. Each pattern is available in multiple colorways, ensuring a perfect match for any decor scheme. Some, like the elegant stitched helix pattern showcased below atop the pyramid, even feature a subtle, inviting texture, adding depth and interest to your lighting. These shades are incredibly versatile, offered as pendants with diffusers or flush mounts with diffusers – excellent choices for hallways or bedrooms with lower ceilings, where ambient, glare-free light is paramount. For the DIY enthusiast, each shade is also available individually, empowering you to retrofit existing lamps or craft your own unique pendant or flush mount fixture, bringing your creative visions to life.
Many of our new designs proudly maintain the accessible $99-and-under price point established by our initial collection. However, to truly innovate and offer enhanced features, we expanded beyond this cap for certain pieces. This strategic decision allowed us to incorporate larger sizes, utilize more premium materials, and introduce functionalities previously constrained by budget. For example, our first collection couldn’t feature diffusers or multi-bulb fixtures due to price limitations. Now, we can offer these desirable upgrades, yet the vast majority of our new products remain incredibly affordable, priced at $150 or less, ensuring quality design doesn’t break the bank.
One of our absolute favorite new additions is the $90 adjustable arm wall sconce. Available in a stylish mixed finish of black and aged gold, as well as a sleek all-chrome version (which we’re eyeing for our beach house!), this sconce offers incredible flexibility. Its plug-in design is a game-changer, eliminating the need for an electrician to hardwire it. This makes installation incredibly simple, allowing anyone to effortlessly add task lighting or ambient glow to their bedroom, reading nook, or home office, transforming their space with ease and style.
Behind the Lens: Unveiling the Magic of a Professional Photoshoot
That stunning photo above transitions us perfectly into the exhilarating world of product photography. Last spring, as a sufficient number of our finalized pieces and prototypes arrived, Shades of Light extended an exciting invitation: join them to help photograph the entire collection for their catalog and website. This was an incredible opportunity, as they had recently relocated to a sprawling new facility in Richmond, complete with a state-of-the-art, dedicated photo studio. Unlike our first collection, which we shot in our old house, this studio experience was a revelation – offering a rare and ridiculously cool peek behind the curtain at how professional stylists and photographers capture product shots.
The ingenuity of their studio setup was truly remarkable. They had constructed an array of fake, movable walls, each mounted on casters for effortless repositioning. What made them truly special was the diverse range of wall treatments – from intricate tilework and classic beadboard to rustic shiplap – and a spectrum of different paint colors. Many even featured realistic windows or other architectural details. This clever design allowed them to simulate numerous distinct rooms and environments, all within the confines of a single studio, eliminating the logistical complexities and time consumption of shooting at multiple external locations. For instance, the versatile setup captured in the image above perfectly yielded the polished final shot seen below:
If you’re anything like us, your first thought might be, “How did that visible gap at the bottom of the wall, where the casters are, magically disappear and transform into a thick, seamless white baseboard?” The answer lies in another ingenious studio trick: they had strips of pre-cut baseboard that we simply slid into place in front of the movable walls. This simple yet brilliant technique instantly covered the gaps, creating the illusion of a solid, perfectly finished room. It’s these smart, subtle details that truly elevate catalog photography to a professional level.
Their studio was also equipped with modular cabinets that could be swiftly assembled to stage a convincing kitchen scene. This flexibility meant we could create a variety of backdrops tailored to showcase different lighting fixtures in their ideal functional environments.
Once a scene was meticulously set up and styled, the real work began. We systematically swapped in every variation of the light fixture – different finishes, colors, and configurations – sometimes making minor styling adjustments as we went. The photographer would then expertly snap away, capturing hundreds of images from various angles to ensure every detail was perfect for the final catalog and website presentation.
Creative Problem-Solving on Set: The Art of Illusion
Remarkably, Shades of Light had only just moved into their new facility a mere week or two before our photoshoot, making our session one of the very first to break in the new studio. This also meant that some of our lights were still in their final stages of production or lacked complete wiring, necessitating a certain level of ingenuity and quick thinking to get the shots. For instance, the lamp base you see below hadn’t been fully wired yet. To achieve a photograph with the light illuminated, we ingeniously rigged temporary wiring from above. The magic of post-production would then step in, with the photography team seamlessly photoshopping out the temporary cords later, leaving only the pristine, illuminated fixture.
And here’s one of the fantastic final shots, showcasing the lamp with an alternate shade. See? No visible wire – just pure, radiant light, thanks to a little studio wizardry!
Another memorable anecdote from the shoot involved a rather ingenious improvisation: we had to fake a headboard using an armchair (specifically, the one pictured above). Some of the essential prop furniture hadn’t yet arrived, leaving us with a creative challenge. My wife, Sherry, and I took the tufted back cushion of the chair, positioned it to mimic a tufted headboard, found a bolt of fabric to serve as a “bedspread,” and simply hoped that careful cropping and styling would do the trick. From a distance, our makeshift setup was, to put it mildly, MAJORLY JANKY and far from convincing…
…but up close, in the final shot, you would never guess that wasn’t the impeccably styled corner of a real bedroom! Here’s the stunning final image (featuring the chrome version of the sconce, so some of the surrounding styling had been swapped to match the finish). It’s a testament to the power of creative staging and meticulous photography.
It was an oddly satisfying and immensely enjoyable experience to craft these various “scenarios,” showcasing our lights in a range of aspirational home environments. We also had a blast rifling through their extensive collection of furniture props. John, in particular, developed quite an affection for that armchair; he found it incredibly comfortable, describing it as “feeling like a hug” (yes, I did marry a charming weirdo, but he’s my weirdo!).
Discover the Full Collection & Get Inspired!
We invite you to explore the entire expanded Young House Love lighting collection directly on the Shades of Light website. Remember that many of the items we’ve highlighted come in a broader spectrum of finishes, colors, or configurations (sconces, pendants, flush mounts, etc.) than what was pictured above. We love seeing our designs come to life in your homes, so if you’ve incorporated any of our pieces into your decor, please don’t hesitate to send us a picture or tag us on social media. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing our lighting in its natural habitat!
Bonus DIY Projects: Enhance Your Home with Ease!
PS: Speaking of exciting things we embarked on last year, some of you may already know that last fall, we filmed a series of engaging videos for a fantastic free do-it-yourself app called DIYZ. We developed six practical projects, each designed to be completed in five steps or less, making home improvement accessible and fun for everyone. You can easily access these tutorials by searching for “YHL” within the DIYZ app. Our projects cover a range of home enhancements, including: constructing a stylish paneled headboard to elevate your bedroom; crafting a charming outdoor house number plaque for instant curb appeal; creating a unique twine-wrapped shelf adorned with elegant leather brackets; assembling a versatile wall-hanging photo & recipe display for personalized organization; building a rustic yet refined wood centerpiece box for your dining table; and even designing a sleek wood frame to upgrade those old, builder-grade bathroom mirrors that typically hang with unsightly plastic clips (make sure to give those plastic clips one last snarl of defiance before you gleefully cover them up with your new, elegant frame!). These projects are designed to empower you to add personalized touches to your home with confidence and ease.