I’m sharing some of the lighting design trends and cool fixtures I saw last week at Dallas market and the Lightovation show.

There’s always lots to see at Dallas Market. Mostly, I have gone in the past, to buy accessories or final layer type items for clients.

There are good Cash and Carry sections within the market, so I save on shipping items like that, since I drive up in my own vehicle.

This trip, however, I was not in that mode for any one client right now and I knew that Dallas is really known for all those great lighting showrooms. While I always try to hit a few when I’m there, I focused on those this time, to get a handle on what’s new in lighting.

First, I want to talk about this one major aspect of lighting that is becoming a topic of discussion.

Integrated LED Lighting

While these fixtures have been around and on the market for awhile, the new intros and what is really being creatively developed now, in the lighting world, are integrated LED fixtures.

That means that the LED is integrated as part of the fixture, so that you can’t ever change the “lamping” out, it is part of the structure of the fixture. (And I imagine there is a better word for “lamping” or “lamp” here, but I’m not sure what that is and it helps describe what I mean in more layman’s terms.)

Of course, we are told LED lasts for 30 years or so before you start noticing the light begin to dim with the naked eye, etc. However, investing in an expensive fixture like these can make some clients and designers nervous about a lamp malfunction down the road.

I wanted to hear from various manufacturers about this and asked in several showrooms.

Sonneman Lighting, probably one of the most advanced and creative in the LED integrated fixture category, has a 5 year warranty on all their fixtures. Over 95% of their fixtures are LED.

They said that most times, if there is ever a malfunction, then it is with the driver, not the “lamping”.

The driver can be located in the housing but can also be located remotely in a very accessible, but hidden location, like a closet, for easy access.

They said not to compare or judge the longevity or quality of LED integrated fixtures with an LED undercabinet tape fixture (something most of us are very familiar with), as it is simply not at the same level.

Integrated LED lighting pendants - The possibilities with design are endless. #pendants #lightingdesign

What I learned…..if you are investing in integrated LED fixtures, go for quality with a reputable vendor.

If you are a homeowner, buying fixtures yourself and arranging your own installation, I would go with a local retail source. If they supply and install, then they would likely have an electrician come out, work on the driver and troubleshoot, to get that fixture up and going again, if there were problems on down the road.

This comment about the driver that would be the part to malfunction, as opposed to lamping, was repeated in several of the showrooms, where I asked.

Now, for the trends!

Lighting Design Trends

I noticed 3 main recurring trends in the new products featured in some of the showrooms at Dallas Market.

1. Organic, botanical motifs and styling are coming on strong with more decorative lighting pieces.

Is this the impact that biophilic design is having in the ethos right now? Is it perhaps the response to how live plants in interiors have become so popular on Instagram in the last few years?

I don’t know, but there is an undeniable trend in bringing these elements into interiors as motifs in some of the products I saw at this show.

Gingko leaf design in a light fixture from Hinkley Lighting. #lightingdesign #lighting #botanical

I loved this gesso finish lamp from Oly that was nominated for an Arts Award. I’ve written about the rise in gesso or white plaster finishes on home decor objects and where to buy them before.

This organic, white gesso finished lamp, from Oly, was nominated for the Arts Awards. #lightingdesign #lighting #whitelamp

This Arteriors twig pendant in white, introduced last market, is a top seller. It will be available in black soon. #lightingdesign #lighting #pendantlight

Monstera leaves form the pattern on this pendant from Hinkley, appropriately named, Botanica. #lightingdesign #lighting #pendantlight

Alabaster is used as drops on this chandelier, aptly named the Cora Waterfall Chandelier, from Visual Comfort. #lightingdesign #lighting #ledlighting #chandelier

Here is a fun little floral decorative sconce in a popular finish, matte black and brushed brass, from Currey and Co. #wallsconce #lightingdesign

These handsome wood lamps resemble tree trunks in the Hudson Valley showroom. #woodlamps #lightingdesign

A lovely organic shaped fixture resembles a free form vine in the Sonneman LIghting showroom. This is a huge fixture. Imagine it over a 9’ long kitchen island in a kitchen with tall, white, simple cabinetry behind. :-) #lightingdesign #lighting #ledlighting

Also in the Sonneman showroom, these modern shapes were inspired by a butterfly. They come in different colors and finishes and several options for installation. #lightingdesign #lighting #ledlighting #integratedled

While these contemporary shapes have a modern feel, the introduction of wood and it’s natural warmth in these fixtures, definitely caught my eye, from the Accord Lighting showroom. #lightingdesign #lighting #ledlighting

2. The popular finish combination that kept showing up in showrooms as I made my rounds was a matte black and brushed brass combination.

I love the touch of masculinity and complexity this combination provides.

More matte black and brushed brass in the Philips Co. showroom with these new intros. #lightingdesign #lighting

Matte black and brushed brass seen at the Capital Lighting showroom, my go-to vendor for budget friendly fixtures that look high end. #lightingdesign #lighting

There were several new fixtures and home accessories in this black and brass combination, in the Arteriors showroom. #lightingdesign #lighting

These new fixtures from Hinkley Lighting made a statement in a matte black and brushed brass finish combination.

Love the matte black and brushed brass in these fixtures from Hinkley Lighting. #lightingdesign #lighting

Matte black and brushed brass pendant from Hinkley. #lightingdesign #lighting

3. Flexibility or adjustability of fixtures seems to be something manufacturers are wanting to explore. With the development of more LED integrated lighting, creativity in design is exploding in this category, IMO. :-)

This boxy LED fixture from WAC Lighting comes in 3 sizes and the interior integrated LED boxes can be turned, on a whim, for a completely different look. You can simply reach up and rotate your lighting when your moods change……from tailored and tight to a little more free form and crazy. :-)

And no, the boxes don’t bump into each other when rotating!

Geometric, boxy shaped LED pendant with adjustability from WAC Lighting. #lightingdesign #lighting #ledlighting #integratedled

The integrated LED system from Tech Lighting, below, can be configured in a multitude of ways, each bar is either an LED or blank black bar. Doesn’t this installation remind you a little of a Mondrian?

Let your creativity run wild!

Mondrian - like grid LED lighting system from Tech Lighting | #lightingdesign #lighting #ledlighting #integratedled

Here’s another fixture that can be rotated or adjusted on site at any time, seen in this quick video I made. It’s from WAC Lighting.

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Discoveries made at Lightovation Show, Dallas Market 2020

This grid system, below, from Sonneman Lighting, can be configured however you wish! It’s like elegant Tinker Toys. :-) Remember those?

You can even rest objects on the light panel, as long as the fixture is properly installed and supported in the ceiling for the extra weight.

This LED lighting grid system, from Sonneman Lighting, can be configured however you wish! #lightingdesign #lighting #ledlighting #integratedled

This LED lighting grid system, from Sonneman Lighting, can be configured any number of ways, the components shown here in this diagram. #lightingdesign #lighting #ledlighting #integratedled

This super low profile fixture, below, is one, 3-light section. It’s a “V” shape, with the larger light in the intersection and the two smaller ones branching off.

The flexibility comes with how you can gang them together and adjust them at installation to create any kind of pattern and configuration imaginable.

This is a low profile fixture, from Sonneman Lighting, that can configured a multitude of ways. #lightingdesign #lighting #ledlighting

I think integrated LED lighting design is only going to get more creative once the possibilities become more apparent and technology moves forward.

I love how these brands are offering options for even more flexibility down the path from manufacturing, to the designer of the interior and even to the end user.