Ask the Designer: Heather Solves Your Design Dilemmas

A Group Member Asks: “What do you think about lighting knockoffs?”

They continued to say: “I’m finding knockoffs from major brands, but at a fraction of the price.  Or in some cases, they are just fun modern designs (that honestly look enticing) found through Google searches.  Many are on Wayfair, Amazon, etc. Does anyone have experience with these inexpensive lights?”

Heather’s Solution:
What I’ve found is that the bargain lights are meeting a specific price point because they are made with bargain materials.

I recently upgraded my office and ordered Hudson Valley and Visual Comfort lighting for my hardwired decorative fixtures. The building electrician who put them up (whom I hadn’t met before this) was telling me what good quality fixtures they are. He said people buy from Amazon or other places online, and they take so much more time to install because they often break during installation.

For example, one of my fixtures had a chain that needed to be adjusted. He was able to open the link, make the adjustment, and then close the link. He said that when he tries to adjust a chain for a bargain fixture, the links often snap, so he has to go to Home Depot to try to match the chain for a replacement, and it takes a lot more time, and customers get crabby. He got to the point where he doesn’t even tell them it’s happening because then they blame him for the breakage. So he fixes it and moves on.

While there can be good, cost-effective solutions, when being tempted by low prices, be mindful of the adage, ‘you get what you pay for. ‘