Last week I shared the new lights that Brad and I got and installed recently and I’m happy to report that we still totally love them. A lot.
In that post, I breezily mentioned that we picked these out after I spent a while searching for my favorite. Well, welcome to the depths of my insanity, because I am pretty sure that I looked at around 10,000 different lights over the course of a couple of years on every website that I could find that sold them. I’m not exaggerating – that is my honest best estimate.
Why so crazy? I think that everyone who is into decorating has a few things that they are particularly obsessed with and notice first when they come into a space. For me, it is the lighting. I love statement lighting, and it was hard to reconcile that with the idea that we have low ceilings and a lot of other things going on in our house, and so reasonably tame flush mounts were the way to go. And even once I reconciled with that I was still convinced that they had to the the perfect reasonably tame flush mounts if I were ever going to sleep peacefully again.
Since I put so much into it, I figure that you all might as well benefit from that work through a roundup of my favorites. Flush mount roundups have been done to death, but I think they’ll keep being popular because finding something that is compact and stylish is just hard. I’ve broken down my favorites into three categories – ones that are simple but still lovely, ones with more of a personality/POV, and flush mounts that are really chandelier substitutes for those with low ceilings. (I should also add the disclaimer that really this is a flush and semi-flush mount roundup, that affordable is something that everyone will define for themselves, and that the listed prices aren’t a guarantee but are just what the lights were being sold for on the day I pulled together my final list.)
Simple & Reasonable Flush Mounts
This is the category of light that I ended up buying – not a light that is going to make a big statement, but something that is attractive and that will complement the decor. These won’t take over the room but won’t fade into the background, either.
1 / Esdale 1-Light Oil-Rubbed Bronze Flushmount ($35 via Home Depot): A nice simple school house style light – I love them for the price! We may put them in our less used spaces.
2 / Cedar & Moss 8 Semi-Flush ($159): Pretty affordable, and these would go really well with MCM or modern styles.
3 / Otis 4″ in Antique Black with Opal Drum Shade ($177): As you know, these are the lights we ended up getting. There are cheaper school house lights, but I hadn’t found any with the same squat profile that I liked so much. They only come down about 8″ and are understated and quaint. I love them!
4 / Satellite 2.25″ with Factory Shade No. 3 ($168): Another from Schoolhouse Electric, and the shade also comes in different colors if you want something more bold.
5 / CB2 Bell White Flush Mount ($60): Very small, but very cute and affordable. They might get dwarfed in a big room but for a bathroom or small office, they’re awesome.
6 / Art Deco White Glass Ceiling Light ($99): I considered these as a more ornate version of a school house style, at a better price than the ones I got.
7 / The Intermediate Schoolhouse ($152): Awesome stripes if you want something with just a little more “oomph.” It also comes in different colors.
8 / Sleek Cylinder Ceiling Light ($178): An actual flush mount! This is a great “boob light” replacement if you need something really trim to the ceiling. I like that the light isn’t hiding (it’s not white/pretending to be recessed lighting) but the shape is so simple that it will be understated.
Affordable Flush Mounts With A Point of View
I kept saving lights like these, even though I knew I needed something simpler. These have a distinctive style and would add a lot to a room. I really love them all!
1 / Hollywood Small Semi Flush Mount ($270): Pricier, but I love the design and detail on this! Would be awesome if you don’t have a ton of pattern already and could use a little more.
2 / Clear Glass Prism Pentagon Ceiling Light ($169): Love the shape, and it would go great with a more “modern blogger” style room.
3 / Bowdoinham 1 Light Semi Flush Mount ($79 via Wayfair): This is definitely affordable, and has a great hit of color! It comes in other colors, as well. I don’t love the shape as much as the Schoolhouse Electric one in the above list, but it is less than half the price.
4 / Cedar & Moss Spectra ($189): These are awesome (as you can see it comes in two colors) but I don’t think the bare bulb look would be right for my rooms. For the right space, though…
5 / Cedar & Moss Aurora Surface ($269): This is a really nice “pendant alternative” if you need something semi-flush. I think it would look odd in the middle of a big room, though?
6 / Modern Ringed LED Ceiling Light ($168): An actual flush mount, and an LED no less! With the strong black and gold look, I actually think this is a flush mount that can be “glam.” I didn’t think that was possible.
7 / Marshall Craftsman Flush Ceiling Fixture ($175): This would add a ton of character/substitute for architectural detail in a house. My house isn’t craftsman at all, or this would have been a strong contender.
Semi-Flush Mounts for When You Really Want a Chandelier
Finally, there are the extravagant semi-flush mounts – the ones that are actually chandeliers that have just been squashed up to the ceiling. I love these and kept saving ones like them, but for the price and the “busyness-factor” they weren’t right for me. However, if you have low ceilings and want to splurge for something to go over the dining table or to dress up a space, they’d be perfect.
1 / Hollywood Large Semi-Flush Mount ($325): Slightly stretching the definition of a semi-flush mount here – but this would be great over a low-ceilinged eating area or bedroom.
2 / Cedar & Moss Voyage ($259): I am crazy about this and wish I could fit it into my home – it has the vibe of a cool, modern sputnik-ish chandelier, but less than 2 feet from the ceiling.
3 / Zazu 12 Light Flush Mount ($1030): Okay, this is not affordable. Don’t I know it. This is like a flush mount version of my favorite chandelier of all time, and I probably would have changed up my entire decor just to make it possible to have them in every room. Of course my house would have looked like crazy-town (in a bad way) to have theme everywhere. But I still had to include them here.
4 / Sphere + Stem Flushmount ($329): This would work in a more ornate style room, or in a simple dining room.
5 / CB2 Vega Brushed Brass Flush Mount ($250): This would totally substitute for a fancy dining room chandelier – just check out the look that you can get with a similar one here.
Well. That was a lot of thoughts about flush mounts that I have been bottling up for years. Hopefully it was helpful (or enlightening – ha!) to someone. And please let me know if you found other favorite flush or semi flush mounts that I missed!
Hi Naomi, thanks! How did you determine the size of your light fixture? I read that a fixture should be the length of both sides of a room converted to inches, but I’ve had a hard time finding fixtures that large in circumference. Did you use that rule of thumb for yours? Does it matter?
Hi Susan, Sorry for the delay! I wish I had a better answer for you, but it wasn’t that scientific! I just kind of went with what felt right…
That rule sounds really odd to me. There is so much more that defines a room than the size, so I don’t see how that alone should define the light fixture. As I am thinking about it, in terms of the size I chose the light fixture by the most constrained dimension – I could only have it hang down so far, so I chose one that was that tall and then had good proportions for the height that it was. But most importance was the amount of statement that it made. I chose one that was the right amount of “loud” for the space.
… not super helpful answer perhaps, but those are my thoughts!
Thanks, Naomi. Going with what feels right sounds a lot better than kooky “rules,” especially since yours looks pretty awesome. Thanks again!