We used larger lights next to front door and the same, but smaller, lights next to the garage doors. There was not enough space available next to the garage doors to accomodate the width of the larger lights. If there had been, I would have done them all the same. We ended up letting the man at the lighting store select the sizes. He was very helpful, atleast until we began having problems with damaged items in our order. Then, not so much.

Totally Confused

Nah -- it's a range, not an exact science. Look at the details of the fixture and the visual weight. A simpler one or one that gets part of its height from a spire would not be overwhelming as quickly as one with more weight or frills. You want a comfortable balance with your door and the architecture of your house. Some homes will take smaller and some will take larger, so the 1/4 is just an average starting point in my mind.

I think it also depends on the size of the space, especially the width, the fixture is going to be hung on. A huge fixture on a space 3' vs 6' wide would look completely different, and maybe 'odd'. Size does matter. ;o)

I struggled with this decision, too. We have a 96" front door, and the porch ceiling right above the door is a high vault. We ended with a hanging chandelier, with smaller versions on the sides of the garage. I wish I had gotten bigger lights. Can you do a computer mock-up to see the scale? I wish I had done that because first time I saw the lights installed I knew they were too small. Then it was too late.

Joyce, you're in the exact situation i'm in! I decided on a light above the space of the front door, rather than hanging style. Matching lights are on each side of the barn-style single garage doors. At the time of the build, I guess I was too 'consumed' w/interior lighting to think about the exterior.

Here are pics of Jack Arnold homes, as that's what i've been trying to replicate, w/o the high price tag~~Allison here on the forum is fortunate to have a JA home. Anyway, you get a good idea of relationship to size. Picture #2 is how my porch light is hung, but not that large. It's also the style of fixture i'm considering~~what I have now is a round style. What is the style you're thinking of using? ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: pictures

I guess I have always loved really big lights. My parent's neighborhood has a spanish style to it. All of the homes have these humongous lights on them. I find that they look so stunning that way. Much like the homes in the link above. If my home could handle them, I would totally put those lights on them. Even on these supposed dream homes... you see these skimpy Lowes looking lights. I vote to have larger lights to draw attention to your home.

My very first post to GW was asking this same question over on the home builders forum . I had ordered lights to flank both the front door of my covered porch and garage doors. When I saw them in person they seemed huge. I received a lot of reassurances from some of the experts on that site and ended up using them. I'm glad I erred on the side of big. One poster told me most people make the mistake of hanging lights that are too small. I've linked to that post.

Here are the lights in question after they were hung

I used the same sized lights on the garage doors

Here is a link that might be useful: Coach Lights too big?

This is great advice--thanks so much. The photos helped a lot! We'll do a mock up first.

I've been looking at a lot of fixtures, and this one has been in my favorites folder for quite awhile.

I still need to do the measuring to make sure it isn't too big, but it's really the one i'm leaning toward. The price isn't bad either. ;o)

Here is a link that might be useful: light fixture