For sconces, start with the placement, not the fixture. Sconces in a dining room typically work best flanking a piece of art, a credenza or a mirror, at roughly eye level—approximately 60 to 66 inches from the floor. Once you know your spacing and height, the search gets much easier.
From there I go straight to vintage sourcing. Chairish is my first stop. The curation is excel-lent, and you can find everything from mid-century brass to ornate gilded pairs. Murano glass in particular is having a real renaissance right now—you can find it super modern or purely classic in every different glass color.
Bonus if you find something local; it’s easily rewired and not super expensive to do so! A dining room is its own world visually, so it can handle a fixture with real personality that doesn’t need to speak to the rest of the house. For something more readily available, Crystorama is a go-to; the selection is deep and the price points work across the board, no matter where you land design-wise.
—Jaclyn Isaac, ASID Associate, Doni Douglas Designs, Avon-by-the-Sea; donidouglasdesigns.com