See Your Name in Lights

If you have ever dreamed of seeing your name in lights, this is your time. The desire for marquee letters (large letters lit by rows of bulbs) is shining brightly, and it’s not hard to find the style, size and color you want.

It wasn’t always so easy. Marquee letters were once found mainly outside of carnival acts, circus tents and theaters, and they were used to let people know who was performing or what kind of act to expect. (Surely this is how the phrase “your name in lights” was born.) In the recent past, vintage letters were all that was available. Drawn to their fun connotations and memories of fairs past, people started buying them at flea markets and antiques stores and displaying them in their homes. Of course, with older pieces, the letter and symbol combinations were limited.

In this room by Echelon Custom Homes, the glowing phrase stationed above a ceramic chicken collection leaves no doubt about the lighthearted spirit of the homeowners.


But as the letters became more popular, merchants took notice. Now a quick Internet search yields many sources for illuminated letters, numbers and symbols, and your imagination is the only limit. In this Huntington Beach, California, nursery, Lindsay Espinoza of Lulu Designs used new but vintage-looking marquee lights to spell out the name of her clients’ son, Noa, above the crib.

Read more about this nursery
Vintage Illuminated Marquee Letters: Restoration Hardware


Although names are seemingly popular in kids’ rooms, it’s not uncommon to find a bold initial in common spaces in the home, such as in this hallway by Sala Architects in Minneapolis.


A rather sedate interior from the contractors at Total Concepts and interior designer Ken Fulk is given a bold shot of exuberance with a brawny, shining “K” perched on a bookshelf.


In this Phoenix bedroom by Maracay Homes Design Studio, a turntable, an electric guitar and a leather valance hint at the owner’s musical taste — but the point is made clear with the letters above the bed.


This bedroom, by Taylor Design Studio in Ohio, makes a similar but more pastel statement. “This tween room was custom designed for a girl who loves Taylor Swift and playing the guitar,” says designer Sarah Taylor. “The stage is all set.”


The kitchen in Portland, Oregon, by Arciform, has a joyful statement writ in marquee lights over the range hood. The sign was added by the happy homeowners.

Read more about this kitchen

Letters: Marquee Letter Lights


Good feelings abound in this dining room by Glynis Wood Interiors. It would be hard to utter an unhappy word during a family meal with this bright statement overhead.

Perhaps we are attracted to the glowing letters as moths to flame because this is the age of the emoticon. In a sense the marquee letters state our feelings, beliefs and identities in the same brief and pithy way a smiling or frowning visage does in a text. It’s a shorthand many homeowners appear to love.

URL: See Your Name in Lights http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-24049.html