Good brands of exterior house lighting (Home Depot, prices, compare, best)

[Bass101]

We are looking to replace the old, brass lanterns on either side of the front door and over the garage. They are tarnished, small, don't give off much light, and outdated looking. I have started researching lantern brands, and have read that the ones you can get at Lowe's and Home Depot aren't the highest quality. I'm looking for something that is going to last, even if it's a bit more expensive. Anyone have any brand recommendations? I will probably order them online.

Thanks!

[MrRational]

There's Kichler... and then there's everything else.
(and yeah, they aren't cheap)

Outdoor light fixtures by Kichler

[K'ledgeBldr]

If you want good stuff- stay away from the big boxes.
Off the top of my head- and in no particular order or quality:
Sea Gull Lighting
Solara Lighting
Murray Feiss
Hinkley Lighting
Kichler Lighting
ELK Lighting
Minka Lavery
Baldwin Hardware (probably the best quality- if it's anything like their door hardware) but it's all polished brass
Progress Lighting
Quoizel
Maxim
Designers (I'd use the term lightly)-
Trump
Tommy Bahama

Maybe you should try a local lighting showroom like:
Residential Lighting from Williams Lighting Galleries | Williams Supply

One major point of all of this- More than 95% of all the fixtures from those manufacturers are made in China.

[desertsun41]

I have always been partial to Sea Gull Lighting. It may not be the most expensive but always dependable with choices for everyone. As the OP said, the big orange or the big blue will not have any bargains nor will they sell anything of quality. Basically they only sell Chinese junk and mark the prices up to full list price or MSRP.

I highly recommend you go to a lighting store. A discount store if you can. They will have hundreds of choices as compared to the big box store who might have 10 choices.