Shopping the Light Fantastic - Page 2

"You take it in from every angle and every room," she explains.

Sandidge says there are several styles among the scores of fixtures she offers that are particularly popular with MCM homeowners. These include globes, cones and bullets, George Nelson-designed bubbles, and a personal favorite of hers, the Sputnik or starburst style.

"That's a classic, and I just don't think it's worn out," she says of the starburst.

"Spotlighting seems to be a very important thing, bullet lights," she says of a popular choice among MCM homeowners, some of whom favor track lighting.

"It's not overkill to use several of them," she says of globes, another personal favorite.

Some of Sandidge's favorite lighting designers besides Nelson include Serge Mouille, Lois Poulson, Poul Henningson, Alvar Aalto, and Stilnovo. "However, I do not sell the designer names in my store, just bullets and globe pendants that I developed based on the old styles," she says.

The entrepreneur added that browsing websites and magazines with photos of modernist décor is "a huge inspiration to me" in designing and choosing fixtures.

"The good thing about lighting is, changing out a light fixture destroys nothing," she notes of this relatively affordable home improvement. "So, it's a good way to get a fresh perspective on your house."

Hip Haven offers a wide variety of lighting, with pieces ranging in price from $70 to approximately $600. The largest globes, which can run three feet across, are in the $2,000 range. The company's catalogue of MCM lighting products can be viewed here.