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22 Illuminating Vintage Marquee Lighting Ideas

Despite looking like they belong at a carnival or an old restaurant from decades ago, vintage marquee lights can still bring a real sense of timeless dazzle to almost any room in your home these days. And because they were such a big signage trend back in the day, you can use them to personalize your decor with the right letters. Here are 22 examples that show just how easy it is to work these stunning lights into your own decor.

Personalized Bedrooms

Perhaps one of the most obvious places to put a marquee light would be your bedroom — particularly if you want to use the first letter of your name. VintageMarqueeLights is an Etsy store that sells them in all different letters of the alphabet.

Marquee letter placed over the bed in a bedroom (Design by VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy)
Marquee letter used above bed headboard (Design by VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy)
Marquee letter used as wall art above bed headboard via LizMarieBlog.com

Why not personalize your marquee lights even further? You can write out full words as long as you have enough letters! SaddleShoeSigns is another great Etsy store that specializes in marquee lighting.

Four marquee letters to spell the word amor (Design by SaddleShoeSigns on Etsy)
Four marquee letters to spell the word love via Hey Wedding Lady

Adorable Nursery Ideas

What’s great about marquee lights is that if you look around hard enough, you’ll find them in all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes other than letters. Take a look at these adorable balloon and cloud marquee lights featured on the SaddleShoeSigns Etsy store!

Balloon-shaped marquee sign hung above crib (Design by SaddleShoeSigns on Etsy)
Cloud-shaped marquee sign hung above crib (Design by SaddleShoeSigns on Etsy)

Taking It Outside

Marquee lights can look just as good outdoors as they do indoors. Check out this clever use of an “@” sign for a front porch, again from VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy, plus this Texas-shaped alternative attached to a tree — featured on Interiors by Studio M.

Marquee letter outside of front door (Design by VintangeMarqueeLights on Etsy)
Texas marquee sign hung outside on a tree via InteriorsByStudioM.com

Above Your Desk or Dresser

It can be tricky to figure out what to do with that naked wall space above a desk or a dresser, but you can use it as the perfect opportunity to hang a marquee light! You can lean them up against the wall, like this first example from JunkArtGypsyz on Etsy, or hang them as wall art.

Vintage marquee letters to dress up an old worn dresser (Design by JunkArtGypsyz on Etsy)
Marquee letter used as wall art above dresser (Design by VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy)
Heart marquee sign hung above desk (Design by SaddleShoeSigns on Etsy)
Marquee skull beside treasure chest via LizMarieBlog.com
Anchor marquee sign hung above dresser via InteriorsByStudioM.com

Accessorizing It

The great thing about marquee lights is that they come in all different sizes. If you can find selections that are small enough, you can use them to accessorize your shelves and tabletops. Check out a couple of these examples, again from VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy.

Marquee letter used on a bookshelf unit (Design by VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy)
Marquee letter used to accessorize (Design by VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy)

In the Kitchen or the Den

There are no limits to using these stunning lights around the home. The personalized letters might seem like a good fit for a bedroom, but you can find different designs that reflect your living room and kitchen decor — or even use letters to spell out a word that reflects the room. How about a world map?!

World map marquee sign hung on the wall via InteriorsByStudioM.com

The word “eat” for a kitchen is short enough to recreate with just three marquee letters and sends a message that gets straight to the point. This incredible industrial-style kitchen setup with matching marquee lights from Restoration Hardware must make you hungry!

Three marquee letters to spell the word eat

Hashtag, living room! Yes, these gorgeous lights even work in the room where you hang out and entertain.

Pound sign-shaped marquee light hung in a living room (Design by SaddleShoeSigns on Etsy)

You have to admit, this is a pretty clever way to use a marquee light. Create a designated doggy dish area with a light that looks like a dog bone!

Bone-shaped marquee sign hung above dog dishes (Design by SaddleShoeSigns on Etsy)

And Even In the Bathroom

We’ve covered all the main rooms of a home except the bathroom. And believe it or not, you can totally use a marquee light (even as a standalone letter) in this room just as well as you could anywhere else. Check out how great they look in these bathroom design examples from VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy.

Marquee light used in the bathroom (Design by VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy)
Marquee letter used in a bathroom (Design by VintageMarqueeLights on Etsy)

Elise Moreau

I write for decoist.

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