Recently I purchased a Rejuvenation Willamette wall sconce to upgrade the light fixture in our bathroom. It was a fairly significant purchase from a brand that I thought would resonate with a lot of HelpAtMyHome.com’s readers, so here is my review.
Background And Basic Information
Rejuvenation, who I often confuse with Restoration Hardware, is a Portland, Oregon-based lighting and hardware brand know for its classic designs, American manufacturing, and high quality. My extended family and I have bought a number of items from the over the years and feedback has been (from what I can remember) universally good.
I’ve been to their East Portland showroom a few times and it’s an impressive store. The customer service there is excellent and the showroom staff is quite knowledgeable, something which cemented — in my mind — Rejuvenation being a high quality brand. I’d say they are best known for their lighting but Rejuvenation also is recognized for its hardware — from pulls, knobs, and hooks to shower heads and shelving.
Willamette LED Glass Wall Sconce
The piece I purchased was the Willamette LED Wall Sconce with Diamond glass. This is a two-piece light fixture with one piece having the hardware and the LED light array. The second piece is the glass surround that shades the LEDs. The glass is sold in a number of variants, like champagne fluted, fluted, and diamond glass.
The fixture is sold in 16″ or 28″ lengths, which has to be matched to the glass you buy. The hardware can be oil-rubbed bronze, aged brass, or polished nickel.
I opted for the 16″ oil-rubbed bronze with the diamond glass. Rejuvenation always has end-of-the-year sales so towards the end of 2020 some deals were available, but the price of this sconce at retail is about $500.
The Willamette Sconce’s LEDs
This sconce’s thin profile is possible because it is lit by a built-in LED strip as opposed to a bulb. Behind the glass surround is a frosted plastic diffuser panel, and behind that are the LEDs. This means you can never change the LEDs and you can’t change the color temperature (it’s 3200K), but the LEDs essentially last forever so that’s nothing to worry about.
The LEDs are dimmable so if you have a dimmer switch you can get a full range of brightness from it. No adjustment or switch is included on the fixture, so you need to handle all control through a wall switch.
The lights consume 13W of power, which means it’s roughly equivalent to a single 75W incandescent bulb. The glass diffusers cut down on the brightness a fair bit, so you have a nice amount of diffused light. This sconce is not overly bright and is very atmospheric.
The lamp is UL-rated for Damp, which means it’s acceptable for bathrooms but can’t directly get wet.
The Willamette’s Glass
The heart of this sconce is the decorative glass panel in front of the light. I bought the glass in the diamond pattern, which is a good deal more modern than the rest, but also very cool looking (in my humble opinion). There are other options, like fluted glass and aged white glass if you prefer.
The glass is made in Italy and then shipped to Portland where the lamp is assembled.
There isn’t too much else to say about this glass and its diamond pattern except that it’s wonderfully made and quite impressive in person. It’s pretty thick and I have no problem handling or installing it.
Willamette Sconce Installation
The installation of a sconce light is a one person job and not very difficult so I handled it myself. There wasn’t much to it: it’s a straightforward swap for almost any existing light fixture. I moved slowly — as I do when working with electricity — and the whole job took under an hour.
Rejuvenation does a good job of offering excellent instructions and phone support with their products, which was the case here. All the hardware I needed for the installation, aside from electrical tape and wire nuts, was included with the sconce.
I will say that Rejuvenation does seem to have no handling for fixture grounding, not included a ground wire. This seems to be fine in practice and the light is UL listed, so I have no concerns, but I was expecting to see a grounding on the lamp, not just the mounting plate.
Willamette Sconce Final Thoughts
Ultimately, this is a beautiful lamp, that will work in many difference settings. I have it horizontally placed over a mirror in a bathroom, where it’s a good looking, low-key light. You can also place it vertically in a hallway or on both sides of a vanity, and so on. I think it looks fantastic in the oil-rubbed bronze and diamond glass combination, but it’s also sold in polished nickel and aged brass coatings.
With a retail price of about $500, the Willamette Sconce is by no means a cheap option, but it looks great, the LEDs will last basically forever, and it provides a nice light. Good lighting is expensive, there is no getting around that, but Rejuvenation’s frequent sales and excellent customer service will take some of the pain out of the purchase.