For those wondering where to find the best contemporary lighting the world has to offer, Atlanta-based Illuminations Lighting is the answer. For 35 years, the company has supplied commercial and residential markets with high-end decorative and architectural lighting products installed in the most creative ways.
“We are known for our decorative products. Although we started in the commercial industry, as design styles have shifted from purely traditional to transitional and modern, the residential market has embraced our global product lines,” says Elaine Elder, co-owner of Illuminations. “As a boutique company, we are flexible in our approach to representing both American and European brands, which often are small companies themselves. We have synergy between our companies to provide unique solutions to meet client requirements.”
Illuminations’ wide range of brands spans the globe, and a variety of materials and styles are available. “Modern lighting options run the gamut, from industrial to earthy, warm vibes,” Elder says. “We carry every imaginable style that falls under the contemporary category.”
Elder and her colleague Ruthann Nerbas spend much of their time visiting with interior designers throughout the Southeast, helping them find lighting solutions for restaurants, hotels and offices. Elder’s business partner, Vicki Celani, along with their team of 10 employees, manage company operations and the showroom.
There are several reasons designers lean on the company’s vetted product lines. “Because we work with small manufacturers who are often family-owned and whose employees have been with them for many years, they are nimble like us, and many are willing to modify products for Illuminations’ clients,” Elder explains. “We visit these factories and get to know their people. With such personal relationships with those who are creating the fixtures, we often can have most lighting made to order, whether the company is domestic or European.”
Elder says brands such as Terzani—based in Florence, Italy, and which specializes in handmade sculptural lighting—supply fully custom products for Illuminations’ clients. “Terzani worked with us and our client The Johnson Studio to create an overscale version of its Epoque chandelier for the entry at Rumi’s Kitchen in Colony Square,” Elder says. The restaurant also features alabaster bar lights by Ilex, a U.S.-based provider of architecturally inspired contemporary and transitional products for commercial and residential use.
Designers benefit from Illuminations’ personal relationships with manufacturers in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Spain. Through Illuminations, designers can source almost any modern light that they can imagine. “We feel connected to every one of the lines we carry, and we love introducing our designers to these lines and helping them find the perfect light for their projects,” adds Elder. One such brand is A-Emotional Light, located in the small Spanish village that sits at the end of the Camino de Santiago trail. The brand employs the local villagers in a beautiful factory setting. “They put as much work into a small project as a large one, such as the beautiful Flou composition installed at SCAD Atlanta. Their working style and lighting services match how we serve clients,” she says. Similarly, Italian-made Davide Groppi offers lighting design assistance and boasts dreamy creations, such as bringing the moon inside your home.
Designers love that Illuminations provides creative lighting solutions using a range of materials. Illuminations’ staff has worked with Italian-based Folio, for example, to provide a two-story illuminated stone wall designed for Gray Television by commercial design firm Hendrick. Folio also illuminated mirrors for a novel look in a Delta Sky Club designed by CBRE Atlanta and worked with Illuminations’ client Heidi Core Interior Design to create a ceiling-mounted, lit logo of a dog for Steadpoint. Folio is even able to illuminate elevator walls, as seen in Illuminations’ own showroom elevator.
Another brand, Bover, is based in Barcelona, Spain, but warehouses its products in Atlanta for quick-ship capability. “Bover also has an impressive Atlanta showroom, with two-story ceilings to showcase its larger products and wide array of exterior lighting,” Elder says. “The showroom benefits our designers by allowing them to see the entire Bover collection in person.”
Tennessee brand FACT provides acoustic ceiling tiles and also offers quick lead times. “It is the only non-lighting commercial product line we carry,” explains Elder. “FACT’s ceiling and wall products are sculptural and designed to help improve acoustics in a space.” FACT works with paper and origami artists worldwide to create its ceiling and wall tiles, which are both beautiful and functional.
Belgium-based BuzziSpace produces high-quality acoustic lighting for workspaces. “Its products blend design and function,” Elder says. Another brand, New York-based Stickbulb, engineers its lighting products from wood. “Stickbulb uses sustainably sourced wood, including California redwood reclaimed from the interiors of dismantled New York City water towers,” she adds. “Its latest collection, Treeline, is made from salvaged pin oak from the city’s urban forest. Stickbulb is an excellent example of a manufacturer that incorporates green technology and environmentally responsible production methods into its manufacturing practices.”
For those in love with the mid-century modern look, Illuminations pairs its clients with California-based Cerno. The supplier uses wood in many of its mid-century creations, offering adjustable wall fixtures and integrating LED technology into its products. It recently added a glassblowing studio to its factory.
For a sophisticated take on Italian design, Illuminations has Contardi in its portfolio. Using fabric and glass, Contardi provides both stock and custom-made modern European LED lighting, including exterior-grade fixtures. Illuminations frequently recommends Vibia for both commercial and residential lighting. Based in Barcelona and stocked in New Jersey, Vibia offers products such as its unparalleled Plusminus system, which uses a woven belt to conduct electricity, enabling lighting elements to be placed anywhere on the belt for countless design options.
Clients can trust Illuminations’ established relationships with lighting manufacturers around the world. Elder and Celani first began working with Italian manufacturers but now have added many other overseas product lines. They have worked one-on-one for years with many of these manufacturers to craft bespoke details for both commercial and residential clients across the country. Today, Illuminations represents more than 60 brands, bringing both local American factories and European products within instant reach.
The company’s offerings include architectural and decorative lighting, for which it is best known. No matter a client’s needs, the design staff at Illuminations is ready to provide a solution that is custom crafted to fit a particular space, whether for an expansive office or a tiny powder bath.
“All of the brands represented by Illuminations can move between commercial and residential applications,” Elder says. “We encourage designers and homeowners to visit our showroom, which is open to all and overseen by our talented Raichelle Singleton, to see the possibilities of how contemporary commercial lighting can ignite their spaces.” *
Dana W. Todd is a professional writer specializing in interior design, real estate, luxury homebuilding, landscape design, architecture and fine art.
