Barn Lighting Revival
Barn Lights – Past to Present
The advent of barn lights began around one hundred years ago in the 1920s as electricity became widely available. Until then, farm work had been limited only to daylight hours, as the setting sun shrouded fields and barns in darkness. Cheap and accessible electricity, however, made way for the birth of the humble barn light. Wide steel shades with white polished porcelain enamel on the inside began to be hung from barn ceilings. This design-focused light downward and lit up the barns’ dark interiors, making nighttime labor not only possible but safer as well.
Barn lights continued to spread in popularity into the 1960s when they began to be replaced by more modern designs. Barn light production effectively stopped in the mid-’60s when the EPA stepped in to regulate the messy production of vintage porcelain. Barn lights began disappearing from commercial spaces as the popularity of floodlights and strip lighting increased.
Because of the skill (and cost!) required to reclaim a vintage barn light shade, many interior designers opt to use modern barn lights instead. The all-aluminum construction of modern barn lights rivals that of their antique counterparts without the need for a porcelain coating.
Modern barn light fixtures are skillfully crafted to provide the durability and vintage aesthetic of the barn light style, all while being affordable and ecologically friendly! Barn lights can even be used outdoors in areas with “dark sky” regulations, as the design of barn light fixtures focuses light downward, helping to reduce light pollution.
Barn Lights for Every Style
Primelite’s new Low Profile Barn Light (#12/10A) combines the efficiency of LED with the classic charm of barn lights, using the fixture itself as a heatsink! Available as a pendant or gooseneck fixture in 29 different finishes, our Low Profile Barn Light will be a perfect addition to any project.