This handsome Normandy lantern, a signature design from the Frontgate catalogue, has a stately presence whether on a table or directly on the ground. Made of cast aluminum, it comes in three sizes: 16 inches tall for $79, 20 inches tall for $99 and 23 inches tall for $129. All from frontgate.com.
String lights have become their own lighting category. These round paper lanterns on a string are by Lumabase. With 10 lanterns and 10 incandescent bulbs, the string is $30.99. The lanterns also come in red, blue, green, orange or purple for $35.95 per string. All from Target, online only at target.com.
Coral just keeps coming at us, doesn’t it. No wonder: It looks great. This powder-coated aluminum candelabrum is almost a foot tall and weighs a hefty 12 pounds. In addition to “sangria,” shown, it also comes in white. Each is on sale for $159.20 at frontgate.com. The candles are sold separately.
Sky lanterns–basically little hot-air balloons–are an Asian tradition, but I saw my first ones being launched skyward on the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Go figure. Because they’re “powered” by use of an open flame, regulations vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, so check. But if it’s a go, they come four to a pack for $14.95 at target.com (online only). Colors include white, yellow, orange, green, red, pink and purple.
I confess a fondess for pagoda-shaped things, including these candle-holding lanterns, which come in two sizes: 14 inches tall and 19 inches tall. In green or verdigris, they’re $79 and $99; in white or cobalt blue they’re $99.50 and $129.50. From frontgate.com. Each lantern accommodates a pillar candle, sold separately.
The Taylor hurricane lamp from Crate & Barrel is about as streamlined as a hurricane lamp can get. The small version, 4-1/2 inches tall, is $9.95, and the large one, 9 inches tall, is $19.95.
You don’t want to light up your grounds like an airport runway, but you don’t want doctor bills from your guests either. These very modern additions to path lighting come from Hinkley Lighting. The L-shaped Atlantis-L uses your existing low-voltage lighting system. It comes in several finishes, $169 in titanium finish at lampsplus.com. The Modern Angle path light also comes in different finishes; in bronze it’s $92.50 from lampsplus.com.
Lanterns with seeded glass make me wish I had a loggia or some other structure from which this Venezia outdoor pendant could dangle. Two feet tall overall, it’s $449 from Ballard Designs, ballarddesigns.com.
I first saw them a couple of years ago in public squares in European cities (Florence and Krakow!), but I don’t think our civic leaders would be as welcoming. I think maybe if you have a picnic in a large park you could have a flurry of these to mark the night sky. (And with all the rain we’ve been having in the Washington, D.C., area there’s not that huge a risk of setting forests on fire–I hope.) But I don’t think I’d chance it on the National Mall: the Capitol Police and the Park Service Police are not known for their collective sense of humor.
Am I being stupid? Where/how would one use the sky lanterns…? I’m drooling at the thought of launching a bunch of fuchsia things but I don’t suppose you’d do it in the backyard (?)