Lights are a huge part of the décor in our house, they are a looked over focal point for many rooms, in our opinion. When building our house, we spent a lot of time searching for lights that would flow with our airy, cozy, and elegant vibe. Lights turned out to be one of the best ways to introduce a bit of style since they were in a spot that wouldn’t be a victim to the wear and tear from animals and kids. Following along with our desire to fill the house with “Sensible Décor,” we set off to find options that gave an elegant vibe, but required minimal upkeep/cleaning.
High-Maintenance Lighting
At our previous house we had pendants, from Ashley. While we LOVED the look of these lights, the glass was always dusty or streaky looking, and they never looked clean. We also used a lot of oil-rubbed bronze, which was nice for creating contrast, but the dust was impossible to hide.
We Suggest Staying Away From:
Oil Rubbed Bronze Fixtures
Black or other Dark Coated Fixtures
Solid Clear Glass Enclosed Fixtures
Globes that Face Up- they catch all the dust and bugs!**Many fixtures that are pictured with the glass opening facing up can be flipped, so don’t let it deter you right away!
**If you really want the contrast of a darker light, something like this ELYONA Pendant looks like a good potential choice for low-maintenance lighting!**
Try These Tips for Low-Maintenance Lighting
When looking for “low maintenance” lighting, we stayed away from lights that were encased in clear glass, opting for no glass, light-colored glass (dark colors highlight the light color of dust, and rarely look clean), or textured glass. Textures like hammered glass gave an elevated look and hide minor streaks, smears, and dust. Better yet, many lights that look soft and elegant come with no glass enclosure at all, making cleaning a breeze. On the other hand, if looking at lights that are enclosed, opt for a full enclosure, which prevents bugs and debris from entering. We also recommend soft white lighting, not so much from a maintenance standpoint, but atmosphere. These are our favorite, for look & lifespan, GE Relax.
What We Look For:
Textured Glass – With Globes that face down to avoid dust/bug trapping
No Glass
Detailed Light Colored Metal of Wood
Completely Enclosed Fixtures
Where to Get Your Lights/Inspiration & Links:
For our new build, we were originally OBSESSED with this Blakely Lantern Pendant from Capital Lighting but they ended up not really fitting in with our vision & we opted for mostly golds in our main living area. We have an open concept home, so it was important to us that the gold tone matched, and it was a labor of love pulling it together, but it came together really well! We took the guess work out of it for you, here are the links and real life pictures of the lights we purchased in our new build:
The pendants we ended up going with for the island were, Providence 3 Light Soft Gold Pendant, however, they are currently sold out at Lowe’s, but this Millennium Lighting Tracy Pendent is a comparable and beautiful choice! These lights just require an occasional dust off with a microfiber cloth, or paper towel, or t-shirt… whatever you have available in your chaotic home, we don’t judge. Here's what the Providence Lantern’s look like in our space:
We also purchased our Foyer Light & Dining Chandelier from the Providence collection at Lowes.
We purchased 2 of these VICNIE Flush Mount Lights lights for our laundry room/laundry/pantry (we like to multitask), they have NEVER needed to be cleaned in the year we have lived here.
We purchased 2 of these Halsted Modern Drum Lights for small hallways. They feature soft gold color details with a soft white shade, completely enclosing the bulbs and requiring less than an annual cleaning (so far!).
The master vanity and hall bath have the same Melucee Vanity lighting, just different sizes. We’ve been beyond pleased with how the textured glass keeps the globes looking clean between wipe downs. I never notice streaks on them. It was also super Important to me that the glass covers face down to avoid collecting dust.
For the girls bathroom, we didn’t even trust textured glass to hide the mess, so we went with the fixture below featuring white shades, we were unable to find the original link, but this Minka Lavery 4 light wall sconce hits all the right notes, white shades AND texture, yes please!
Last but not least, for our daughters closets we ordered these fun chandeliers, the Depuley Mini Chandelier gave fairy tale vibes for the younger girls & this Wood Beaded Chandelier gave a more grown-up, Bohemian vibe for our teenager’s closet. Not pictured, cause, well, it’s a mess in there.
Check out these similar gorgeous but sensible lighting options:
Pendant Lighting: Classy Leaf Gold Pendant – measuring 13’’ L x 13’’ W x 14’’ H & costing about $104.00 each, these are a great low-maintenance option for over an island or in a foyer. The curved lines and soft gold color (which hides dust) create an elegant feeling and the lack of glass keeps it looking clean, with just occasional dusting.
Chandelier: LOVEDIMA Textured Glass Tiered Chandelier – This chandelier brings the glamour! It is 13.8’’ x 31.5’’ and a bit pricier at around $540, but it is also a grander piece. This would look beautiful over a piano, dining table, soaking tub, or foyer. The textured glass pieces work well at hiding any smudges or streaks, leaving a light that always looks clean.
Vanity Lights: Kira Hammered Glass 3 Bulb Vanity Light – Another beautiful Hammered glass option, to hide dirt and smudges. The silver metal also hides dust. Notice the globes all face down too, this avoids the dust and bugs that accumulate in upward facing globes.
Flush Mount Lights: Barnes and Ivy Frances Flush Mount Drum Light - $260, this is a great option for small hallways, closets, foyers, laundry rooms, or powder rooms. We love the enclosed light, the lack of openings prevents the need to constantly clean it. The soft lines of the circle details along with the soft white fabric create an sophisticated look for any space.
Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that we will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. This in no way affects the products we recommend, and only allows us to receive compensation to help pay for our blog.
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