Lighting the Unexpected Way

Lighting today is no longer just about practicality. We desire fixtures that are both aesthetically pleasing and progressively illuminating. Kitchens with well-planned task lighting can also have lighting that makes a visual statement, be it a pair of pendants or an exquisite chandelier over the island. Living rooms and bedrooms get instantly updated with eye-catching floor lamps and gorgeous reading lamps that can cast a better glow than ever before. There are many local resources to help you sift through the options, whether you’re adding age and character to an entryway with vintage sconces or updating your entire lighting system to make it environmentally friendly. And the best news is, you can do both.

Twin Cities Lighting Resources

Artemide
The Italian lighting company with Milanese roots has been designing lighting since 1959. The brand has long been recognized for its distinctive beauty and for offering lighting solutions for private residences, as well as large sophisticated installations. The Twin Cities show room includes hundreds of fixtures and focuses on contemporary styles, including those by Tizio and Tolomeo, Logico, Melampo, Castore, and color-changing Metamorfosi. Open to the public. International Market Square, Mpls., 612-340-5310

All About Lights
This 7,000-square-foot residential and commercial lighting superstore offers something for every taste and budget—contemporary, transitional, early American, traditional, Mission, and landscape lighting hail from more than eighty manufacturers. Find home décor, artwork, mirrors, commercial lighting, and window treatments by Aero Drapery and Blind. Plus, it’s open to the public seven days a week and there’s a playroom for the kids. 2965 Water Tower Place, Chanhassen, 952-368-7288

Cartier Lighting
It’s easy to miss what many local designers call the Cities’ best lighting show room. It may be disguised in a west metro office building, but trust us, the chandeliers, landscape lighting, and lamps here are well worth seeking out—as are its lodge-style options for the lake home. And what you see in stock is just the tip of the iceberg—so bring your wish list and your designer. 151 Cheshire Ln. N., Plymouth, 763-476-9555 

Citilights Lighting                                               
This contemporary Loring Park lighting store has been bringing us German, Italian, and Spanish imports for more than twenty years. A favorite of urbanite homeowners and top restaurateurs, Citilights’ cool lights work in both residential and commercial settings. Plus, it is Minnesota’s exclusive carrier of Baccarat lighting—think big crystal chandeliers, pendants, and sconces. 1619 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-333-3168

Creative Lighting + Home Accent
The well-laid-out sales floor and knowledgeable staff make shopping here a snap. But it’s the clearance show room that really lights us up; it doubles as a gift shop, offering beautiful light fixtures and lamps, plus home accessories—many made by local artists. A new section carries decorative home hardware, bath accessories, and doorbells, and consultants are always on hand to help you navigate through it all. 1728 Concordia Ave., St. Paul, 651-647-0111

Filament Lighting
Find a comprehensive selection of lighting here—from Pacific Rim to European styles, both contemporary and traditional—plus numerous source books to peruse. This owner-operated shop (Todd Pearsall is typically on the sales floor) offers a boutique-style experience with well-edited merchandise and attentive salespeople. 5007 Excelsior Blvd., St. Louis Park, 952-926-5007

John’s Antiques/Anderson Lamp Shades                                      
Fans of antique and vintage lighting flock to John’s and its adjacent shade shop, where customers know they’ll find a quality, well-edited selection. It’s also a junker’s best friend: Head here to repair and restore that fixture you found at a flea market. 261 W. 7th St., St. Paul, 651-222-6131  

Lappin Lighting                          
Rick Lappin’s urban show room supplies local designers and downtown loft dwellers with the kind of straightforward, contemporary lighting that complements the simple, airy spaces and pared-down lifestyles of many boomers living in the neighborhood. 222 N. 2nd St., Mpls., 612-339-5555 

Lights On Broadway
This 15,000-square-foot show room is the place for anyone who needs help designing and planning the lighting and décor of any room. With vignettes grouped and organized in different home styles, buyers can pick and choose pieces or buy the entire room. This locally owned store features lights, home décor, lamps, art, mirrors, and accent furniture. 6900 Broadway Ave. W., Brooklyn Park, 763-533-3366

Lightworks                      
The staff here is passionate about period lights. Lightworks creates its own reproductions in Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Mission, Arts and Crafts, and Prairie styles, as well as restores the vintage and antique. In addition to selling new and antique lighting fixtures, the Lightworks team will restore antique lighting and build reproduction and custom lighting. 404 Washington Ave. N., Mpls., 612-724-8311

Michael’s Lamp Studio               
Michael’s bills itself as a “complete lamp shop,” selling thousands of mostly traditional shades and parts to resurrect both that ill-wired lamp and its punctured shade. Michael’s has been crafting custom lamps for more than thirty years and is able to make a lamp out of most any inanimate object. 3101 W. 50th St., Mpls., 612-926-9147

Mohn Electric Co.                                
Mohn knows a thing or two about mood lighting—it’s the spot to stock up on light bulbs, dimmers, and other accouterments, or to restore vintage fixtures with its great selection of readily available pieces and accessories. Mohn also will do special orders for hard-to-find vintage lamp parts. 925 W. Lake St., Mpls., 612-823-4243  

Muska Lighting                                 
From traditionally ornate crystal chandeliers to colorful contemporary glass wall sconces, Muska packs it all into its three-year-old, 9,000-square-foot Grand Avenue digs. There’s also outdoor lighting, fans, bathroom lighting, lamps, and accessories, so no room is overlooked. 700 Grand Ave., St. Paul, 651-227-8881

Southern Lights
With one of the largest show rooms in the country, twenty years in business under its belt, and an additional 25,000-square-foot warehouse, this store includes nearly every style of lighting you can imagine at every price point. 12550 W. Frontage Rd., Burnsville, 952-890-8977  

Vintage Lighting Gallery             
Stepping into owner Karen Stafford’s shop is like stepping back into time—well, any time since Edison invented the light bulb. With finds from scavenging auctions, antiques stores, and estate sales, she restores chandeliers, wall fixtures, floor lamps, and table lamps from the late nineteenth century through the 1950s. All the wiring meets current codes, and shades and custom finials can be made to match the period fixtures. 5004 Xerxes Ave. S., Mpls., 612-927-7195

Wayzata Lamps & Shades            
Looking for a lamp? You’ll find more than 2,000 bases and 13,000 shades at this strip mall spot. And if you don’t find what you’re looking for, the staff will custom make a lamp out of figurines, pottery, vases, candlesticks,  collectibles, you name it. 864 E. Lake St., Wayzata, 952-449-9802 

International Market Square
Usually we turn to the show rooms at International Market Square (275 Market St., Mpls., 612-338-6250) for furniture that runs the gamut from traditional and formal to transitional and contemporary, but this should also be tops on your list of places to look for lighting. At Baker Knapp & Tubbs (Ste. 335, 612-341-2906 ), you’ll find exclusives from designers Bill Sofield, Barbara Barry, Jacques Garcia, and Baker Signature Lighting. G. Maxwell Collection (Ste. 274 & Ste. 275, 612-335-9335) is a good source for hand-wrought iron lighting from Studio Steel; and Rita Haberlach (Ste. 411, 612-332-7482) stocks standout pieces from Boyd Lighting. Holly Hunt Minneapolis (Ste. 234, 612-332-1900, hollyhunt.com) and The New Contemporary Designs (Ste. 229 & Ste. 235, 612-339-2170) are great resources for contemporary lighting styles, while Francis King (Ste. 465 & Ste. 467, 612-604-0033), Hampton Row (Ste. 361, 612-339-1994), Duxbury (Ste. 265, 612-338-3411), and Sayre/Strand (Ste. 201 & Ste. 222, 612-375-0838) are known for more decorative or traditional styles. Most home-furnishing show rooms are open to the trade only, but individuals are welcomed to use the IMS Design Connection & Buying Service (612-338-6250).