The wildly successful Lumen Nation offers show-stopping lighting fixtures for home and landscape

By Patricia Nugent

Like a trip to a museum or art gallery, shopping at Lumen Nation brings with it a new appreciation for beauty. And that’s just how owner Tom Rafferty wants it.

“I strive to put together a rich diversity of selections, bringing in unique treasures and finds people won’t see at other places,” he says. “We also go out of our way to offer lighting to fit any price point, from entry level to the sky’s the limit.”

With locations in Akron and North Canton, the expansive showrooms are broken up into smaller gallery-like departments to encourage a strolling shopping experience. Featuring indoor and outdoor fixtures, you’ll find soaring foyer chandeliers, dramatic pendant lights, sleek wall sconces, ceiling fans, floor and table lamps, and complementary lighting families for bathrooms.

As you walk into the store, you’re greeted by breathtaking chandeliers from above, with showstopping cut crystals. You would assume it is here you’d find the most expensive fixture in the store, but you’d be wrong.

That distinction goes to a stunning ceiling light that sports nary a crystal. The hand-crafted Ardesia linear fixture by Hubbardton Forge in Vermont features jagged slabs of black slate conjoined by a bar of LED lighting that illuminates them. Checking in at more than $4,600, the light is at once earthy and organic yet strikingly modern.

At the Akron location, Tom says they will soon debut a new addition to their outdoor lighting department, a room devoted to landscape lighting.

“The demand for outdoor fixtures has skyrocketed over the past year or two,” says Tom. “I think people want their home to be so much more than just a place to live, they want to redefine how they are spending time there. For outdoor living, homeowners are opting for several layers of lighting to create a cozier, more sophisticated effect.”

Whether indoors or out, LED lighting is bringing more interesting designs to life. In addition to completely changing the look of a room, they are surprisingly efficient, lasting up to 50 years.

The Consultation
Tom explains the consultation process is what separates Lumen Nation from other stores or shopping online.

“People enjoy picking out things in advance, then sitting down with us in the Consultation Room,” he says. “Viewing their selections within the shop or on a large video screen, we can go over what looks the best together. And for new homes, we’re accustomed to working from scratch with a blueprint.”

The staff has design backgrounds, as well as ongoing training, so they know which pointed lifestyle questions to ask that will lead to a perfect lighting match.

Bringing Rooms to Life
Beyond the 1,000-plus light fixtures in the showroom, you’ll find a hand-picked selection of furniture and artwork—from large wall paintings to vases and tablescapes—and bathroom vanities. There are rustic farmhouse looks with distressed wood chairs and traditional styles, including the gray linen Chesterfield tufted sofa in the reception area.

The vintage roadster that doubles as a wine bar in the front room is quite the conversation piece. And keeping an eye on it is a life-sized floor lamp that’s a sculpture of a well-dressed lady whose fancy hat is the light source.

To finish any space in style, they also offer a wide selection of area rugs.

For comprehensive service, the stores offer a lampshade department where people can custom order the shape, fabric and style of the just-right topper, as well as a repair shop with craftsmen who can fix almost any fixture.

Lumen Nation Montrose is located at 3900 Medina Road, in Akron, just off I-77. Call them at 234-466-0776. The North Canton location is located at 4242 Portage Street NW. Call them at 234-347-0109. Visit Lumen-Nation.com for more details on available products and installation.