I'm not sure what it is that makes a gas lantern so incredibly warm and wonderful, but the thought of a copper gas lamp on the front of our home simply makes my heart sing. There are different examples of gas lights on homes all over our area and we love the way they look regardless of the age or style of the home.

We've long thought about replacing the small electric front light on our house with a gas lantern but always felt it wouldn't provide enough light for the entryway. However, once we added French doors to the front of the house and a light in the vestibule the option of adding a gas lantern became a realistic one since it isn't the only source of light on the front of our house.

If you've been to New Orleans, you're probably aware of the iconic gas lights that adorn the walkways, alleys, courtyards, porches, and fronts of homes throughout the city. They're so prevalent that a specific style of gas lantern has been dubbed the "French Quarter" due to it's frequent appearance in that area over all other styles.

Last weekend while we were in New Orleans we made a stop in one of our favorite shops on Royal Street with the intent of taking the first step towards this major curb appeal transformation. Situated among the great antique stores and along side "Cafe Beignet" sits a specialty lighting shop called Bevolo Lights.

You may already be familiar with this name as their products were featured on the New Orleans episodes of This Old House several years ago. They've been custom fabricating copper gas and electric lights for a variety of applications for over 65 years, and we frequently see the small "Bevolo" name plate at the bottom of many of the lights around Old Town Alexandria.

When you walk into the shop you are immediately taken by the massive array of fixtures on display.

From small to large, simple to ornate, there's a light to match just about any style of home you can imagine, and they can custom tailor to your specific needs if one on the floor doesn't fit your fancy.

The store itself is in an old building with brick walls that opens onto a small courtyard area that the main store space flows into.

In addition to the custom copper fixtures, a mix of antique and custom chandeliers hang randomly from the ceiling.

The rear rooms of the store house other antiques collected by the shop's owner and are mixed in with other styles of lighting available from the store.

For example, these utilitarian shades sit above a back room's doorway. I love these simple copper shades and can imagine they'd look great lighting an intimate backyard space.

While I wandered around the store taking photographs of the beautiful fixtures...

...Wendy started talking with one of Bevolo's designers, Jennifer. Wendy told her a little about our home, its style, and what we were looking to do with the front light. Jennifer had some great input and started showing Wendy some of the various options and styles that might work for our home.

I've always been partial to the traditional four sided "French Quarter" lamp, but she showed us several others that might work quite well for the age and size of our home.

One very interesting style is a slight variation on a more traditional look. It's a six sided version of the four sided fixture that we see quite often. I do like the look, quite a bit actually, but worry the additional shape of the lamp may be too decorative or complex for the relatively simple facade of our modest home.

The various options associated with the selection of a final lamp are nearly overwhelming. From lamp style to bracket to size, it's no wonder why Bevolo offers their design service when purchasing a lamp. After all, these are all hand made copper lights, made to order for each specific customer, so they want to get it right the first time.

We're very excited about the possibility of changing out our undersized front light for a gas lamp. We have quite a few steps ahead of us before we reach that point, that's for sure. Beyond selection of the lamp's size and style, we'll need to get approval for the alteration from the Board of Architectural Review, permits for running a new gas line off of our existing manifold, and work with a contractor to run the new gas line up through the wall. It won't be an inexpensive endeavor nor a simple one, but we've taken the first step towards a new light, and that feels very nice. We've already been in touch with Jennifer since we arrived home and can't wait to get moving on this (yet another) project!

What do you think of our various options? I'm sure we'll do additional posts as we move through the project where we'll ask you all to weigh in on your favorite styles for our house. But are you leaning towards a more traditional look, something more decorative like the six sided look, or something taller, thinner, and more square? Would love to hear your opinion.