Lamps Plus - Lighting The Way To Good Design

A highlight of my trip to LA last month was a visit to the huge Lamps Plus showroom, a lighting fixture superstore. Lighting design, done well, brings every room in the home to life, and the three anchors of a good lighting plan are:

• task lighting
• accent lighting
• general lighting

These lighting concepts will bring dimension and layers to an entire space, a featured area, with the option to use multiple effects for aesthetics, function or both, depending on time of day or use. As you can see, lighting fixtures have the ability to transform the entire perception of a space. It will take time to get to that special, transformative place, but it's well worth the effort, and of course, design professionals can add creativity, knowledge and experience to make all lighting elements work in concert together.

Lamps Plus is one of the sponsors of BlogTourLA, presented by Modenus, which makes it possible for designers to greatly broaden our horizons in regard to design and culture in the city we travel to. In exchange for this incredible opportunity, we are asked to write about the sponsors and it stops there. Opinions are completely my own.

When I entered the Lamps Plus store (one of more than 40 superstores throughout the western U.S.) I went with those lighting concepts in mind - layers, function, pure aesthetics. Lamps Plus has EVERYTHING in their store, including lamps you can custom spec. Take a look at some of the beautiful light fixtures I discovered in this video I made:

This is why I love getting immersed in a brand, because you would think that Lamps Plus only has lighting, right? No, far from it. Lamps Plus has in-home lighting consultations, in-store tutorials, and offers installation services from licensed electricians, but that's still only the beginning! How about home furnishings?

A sister company of Lamps Plus is 55 Downing Street, an online destination for home furnishings, always on sale. Events are limited, allowing for a revolving collection of brands and styles of home furnishings. There are literally thousands of products to choose from and, taking a look at the contemporary rug collection, as one example, revealed a very broad collection of designs that were both sophisticated in design aesthetic and reasonably priced. The value is clearly there in my opinion.

Like any store, shop or even boutique that has endless items for sale, it's important to take your time during the hunt on the Lamps Plus online store. Here are some tips to make your shopping experience the most efficient it can be:

• narrow the results as much as you can
• read the specs which are very detailed and very helpful
• add to a wish list
• review your favorites several times to be sure of your choice
• watch the ship date
• take advantage of the low price guarantee
• read reviews
• see color and bulb options

I was quite surprised at the breadth of the products I found. Look carefully, and you'll find that gem.