If you live in a house built before the mid-nineties and you haven’t undergone a large-scale renovation, chances are you have sad, outdated light switches and outlets. My house was built in 1991 and is replete with tan switches and outlets. It’s a small detail but it’s also a big detail, since switches and outlets are in every single room of the house. It’s one of those details that you stop seeing after awhile, and one that people coming to your house probably wouldn’t explicitly notice, but it’s a background detail that our eyes and brains pick up on and it absolutely does add a layer of “old,” and not the good kind.
I’ve been sort of pining over bright white light switches and outlets since we bought this house but it’s always been an easy detail to push off updating. I thought it would be too complicated to undertake all at once and I wasn’t sure it would be worth the investment…until I started looking into the Adorne line by Legrand.
Adorne products take light switches and outlets to the next level. They’re sleek and modern-looking with an amazing range of finishes and possibilities. You can incorporate nightlights, USB chargers, and wifi connectivity into otherwise standard switches and outlets. A traditional outlet or light switch can be easily expanded to include both its original functionality and one of the add-ons like a nightlight or USB port.
I spent hours poring over Legrand’s Adorne options and these are my favorite available features, all of which I’ll be incorporating into the downstairs of my house. And let me tell you, I never knew I could get so excited over light switches.
Dimmers
Adorne by Legrand has a huge section of dimmers to choose from – you customize for incandescent or LED lighting and then choose between a (L-R) paddle dimmer, whisper dimmer, a softtap dimmer, or a touch dimmer. I decided to stay with the simple paddle dimmers but the ones with touch technology look super cool. There are also timer and wifi options for light switches so you can set your lights to turn on and off at certain times of day or control them remotely.
Pop-out outlets
I think these pop-out outlets are the coolest. When they’re not in use you press the box in and it virtually disappears into the wall. When you want to use it, you simply press again and have access to two outlets. So all the functionality of a traditional outlet but it’s sleek and smooth when not in use. It’s also amazing if you have little kids because no holes for little fingers to probe!
Nightlights
I was super excited about the ability to add nightlights into existing outlets. There are a few options – a half nightlight that can be paired with switches or outlets, a full-size nightlight that replaces an existing outlet, and a pop-out option. The pop-out option is similar to the pop-out outlet in that a little box pops out when you press it. But this actually comes all the way out and can be used a portable flashlight. How brilliant is that?! I’ll be adding some nightlights in the downstairs hallway and kitchen so when someone comes down in the middle of the night there will be a softly lit path to follow.
USB ports
My daughters are still young but the day is coming when we’ll have four phones in this house and who knows how many other devices. The ability to add USB ports alongside outlets or side-by-side together is so smart and functional and is a feature I know we’ll use for many years.
Once you’ve chosen the actual components you want you also choose the wall plate finish. I decided to stay mostly with white but am using a few brushed brass plates as well. I’m getting started on installing all of the new switches and outlets and will be writing a post next month showing you how easy these are to install and what a tremendous difference they make in the look of my house. I think they’re going to take twenty years off practically instantly and I cant wait to have them all in place!
