Picking outdoor accessories may seem overwhelming considering all the choices, including lamp finials, antique weathervanes, or handcrafted cupolas. Home and garden stores offer a decent selection of outdoor accessories, but many collectors enjoy scrounging at flea markets and yard sales for more rare finds. Enthusiasts now also turn to online resources for items like lamp finials.

Lamp Finials, Weathervanes, and Cupolas

Finials, which are ornaments that cap the apex of architectural structures, help to provide weatherproofing for those structures. Without finials, water tends to accumulate at the apex and cause damage. These ornamental caps also come as fence finials, used to protect the wood on beautifully crafted fencing, and lamp finials, which are attractive and prevent water damage on outdoor lamps.

Weathervanes not only provide decoration, but also show wind direction if designed correctly. As long as the ornament is equal in mass, but unequal in area from the center, the design allows crosswinds to push the tail end so the nose points toward wind direction. Silhouette weathervanes are quite popular, as well as three-dimensional designs in the shapes of animals, people, and other scenes.

Cupolas, often found on barn, stable, and church rooftops, are little dome structures with a small roof of its own. Sometimes built onto an existing structure for purely aesthetic reasons, the cupola's original purpose was to act as a skylight and provide air circulation. The cupola allows hot air to escape out of windows, which was very important before we had air conditioners!