Get The Vintage Schoolhouse Lighting Look You Love, For Less

As much as we love schoolhouse-style lighting, it isn’t always the best idea to buy something truly vintage and hope it works. There are stores — such as Schoolhouse Electric or Barn Light Electric — who sell absolutely beautiful fixtures in this style, but they are often out of financial reach. To help you stay on budget, and get the look you want, we’ve rounded up some of the best lighting options out there, all well under $100.

Schoolhouse style has timeless appeal, and is known for its practical opaque glass shades, utilitarian materials, and basic lines. Here are some of our affordable favorites:

Susie and Mitch of Tiny House Giant Life made several lights for their Western Massachusetts home. In addition to the semi flush mount one in the image above, made for only $47, they also built a brass sconce for just $65 (which you can see in the background). That’s two brass fixtures for a little over $100, which is not too shabby at all.

If you don’t want to make your own lighting, and don’t care about the brass, head over to Amazon to get something similar, for even a little less. This version from Westinghouse is only $32 and includes free shipping for Amazon Prime members. There are also brass options, but you’ll pay a little bit more than any of those above.

Of course, you can always buy a basic schoolhouse-style light and customize the base with gold spray paint. Then paint rings around the glass shade for a finishing touch. This cute one was done by Little House of Four for under $40.

If you want a pendant vs. flush mount, Studio Gray House did the work to figure out how to make one of these for $78, using actual vintage globes they found off eBay.

Home Depot has a slew of schoolhouse options like the pendant above, which sells for $68 as well as a flush-mount version for $50.

For a bathroom or hallway, this smaller schoolhouse-style pendant will do the job. It’s $94 and available from Home Depot with either an opaque or transparent glass.

Another affordable option, this one with clear glass (so pick up an Edison bulb to complete the look) and an aged metal frame. Find it at Target for $89.