Lighting

Flush-mount lights, pendants and chandeliers on a single ceiling point:

most rooms are wired for one fixture in the middle of the ceiling, and that point decides more than taste does. A flush-mount light sits flat against the ceiling and spreads light evenly, which is why bedrooms and low-ceilinged apartments use them. A pendant hangs on a cable or chain over a dining table or kitchen counter and throws its light down rather than out, so it only makes sense with the table under it. A glass or crystal chandelier wants a high ceiling and a fixing strong enough for its weight, not just the plastic box the old fitting was screwed to. One distinction matters on every ceiling fitting: integrated LED or sockets. An integrated LED flush-mount is slim and cheap, but when its LEDs or driver fail, the whole fixture is finished. A fitting with sockets just takes new bulbs, either the standard screw base or the small candle base. Table and floor lamps skip the wiring altogether and move house with you. A wall sconce beside one of the mirrors in a bathroom or hallway needs a wired point in the wall, and a picture light or a small spot is what lets a painting from art be seen at night.

Wrought-iron lanterns and colonial lamps:

forged iron is the local style that never dates. Workshops in Antigua have made lanterns, hanging lamps and wall brackets for generations. A hand-forged piece is heavy, shows hammer marks and has slightly uneven scrolls with welded joints; imported rustic look-alikes are stamped sheet metal, light and identical. On a used lantern, look at the base and the joints where paint has chipped, because that is where rust starts, above all if it hung outside under the eaves. Check the glass panes for cracks and open it up: an old iron lamp often still has cloth-covered or brittle wiring that needs replacing before it goes back up.

Rechargeable bulbs and solar lamps for the power cuts:

in towns where the supply can drop for hours or days, from Teculután to Coatepeque, a rechargeable emergency bulb is more use than any chandelier. It screws into an ordinary socket, charges while the power is on and keeps glowing from its battery when it goes. Solar garden lights and small panel kits with a couple of bulbs do the same job off the grid. Both lose battery capacity with age, so with a used one, charge it fully, switch it off at the wall and see how long it really lasts. The surge when the power comes back is also what kills cheap LED bulbs and the drivers in integrated fittings, so a used LED fixture that flickers, buzzes or comes on dim has already taken a hit.

LED flush-mounts and dining pendants on the shelf:

a plain LED flush-mount light costs around Q100 to Q400 new, while a three-light pendant for a dining table starts around Q1,000. A secondhand flush-mount with integrated LEDs is hard to sell at all, because nobody knows how many hours its LEDs have left and a new one costs little. Pendants, chandeliers and forged iron are where a used price still means something, provided every arm lights and the glass is complete.

Photographing a lamp lit and unlit before you list it:

take one picture switched on, so a buyer sees the light and any dead arm, and one switched off in daylight to show the finish. State the base the sockets take, how many bulbs it holds and whether they are included, the drop from ceiling to bottom with the cable or chain, and whether the ceiling cover, screws and hooks are in the bag. For forged iron, say whether it hung indoors or out and whether it has been repainted. For a rechargeable bulb or solar light, say how long it lasts on a full charge. A chandelier travels best with its glass drops taken off and wrapped one by one, so tell the buyer they will come boxed separately: nobody wants to find a drop missing after an hour on the road.