Before and afters are always fun, but it’s also a nice change to talk about the small stuff. A little while back, I did a blog post on lighting and shared a few tips and tricks. After getting some questions, I had a specific point I’d like to circle back to, inspiring its own post. Originally I said this:
“We recently upgraded all our dimmers and switches at the Ravine House to the adorne Collection by Legrand and it has made a huge difference – in both looks and function. We even have some touch and wifi ready options that make me feel a lot fancier than I actually am! But in all seriousness, dimmers especially will allow you to adjust light levels and create the atmosphere you need. Who doesn’t want to feel relaxed after a busy day? Softening the light around you will play a major role in that.”
If you aren’t familiar with this brand and product, it is basically the cadillac of plugs and switches. The options are endless – much more than I could cover in a single blog post – so you’ll have to trust me on that one 😉 I opted for the powder white wall plates and paddle switches, which look clean and modern. We did try some touch options as well (more on that to come) but ended up with just the simple paddle dimmers as well. Like I said, there are SO many options, you can customize every room to exactly what you want! 
The same thing goes for the outlets. We chose to put some usb compatible ones right by our bedside and in a couple spots on the main floor for easier charging and speaker plug ins. In a few other locations, I chose the pop out outlet mainly because it was so handy with Jack. When not in use, I could tuck it away and never have to think about baby proofing.
And so, I’ll cut to the chase…the positives along with the negatives because ladies and gents, this is an honest review and I like to share our experiences in the renovating world. Not everything goes smoothly and this particular switch swap had some bumps along the way. But first, the good:
- I love the design and how beautiful our outlets and wall plates look. I seem to get compliments all the time.
- The sheer amount of options is amazing! Ok, yes a touch overwhelming too, but once you narrow down your preferred mix, it can be quite fun to plan your space.
- There are wifi compatible options and main hub that can link everything to your phone. Though this system never quite worked out for us, it seemed like a great feature if you have the time and energy to invest in the initial set up.
- Like I mentioned before – the outlet options were a favourite. I love having my phone charger plugged right into the usb spot and the pop out one is honestly the best!
- The plugs and (majority) of the simple switches are decently fast to install
Now…the bad:
- In my opinion, this is not a fast DIY project. In fact, this was the equivalent of…”hanging wallpaper with a difficult repeat pattern” or “being in the busiest Ikea of life and trying to process a difficult order” kind of marriage testing. Ryan is a skilled contractor and we still struggled with the install. In fact, we even had an electrician come out to help with some of the wifi dimmer switches and he couldn’t even get them to work. Which leads me to my next point…
- Knowing what kind of lightbulbs and fixtures you have does matter. We were told the wifi/touch dimmer switches would work with LED pots but we must have gotten something mixed up in our order. We ended up having to go out and find the simple paddle switches which seemed to be able to handle our type of LEDs. It was a bit disappointing to get excited about the wifi option only to have it not work with our fixtures…and you better believe I’m not changing 8 glorious LED potlights in our high sloped ceiling!!
- 3 way switches on a dimmer are kind of a nightmare – so fair warning on that one lol. I still (full disclosure!!) have one switch empty on one wall! It’s a problem I plan on solving later when we tackle our kitchen reno though so no biggie!
Ok so besides a tricky install process, I do LOVE this product and I’m so happy with how the light switches look. I’m excited to complete the whole house top to bottom, since they add just one more stylish touch. What do you think?! Do small improvements like this matter?? Would you consider a light switch like this in your own renovation? I’d love to hear!
This post was made in collaboration with adorne, though it was for product only. All opinions are 100% mine!