Lamps are to a room what shoes are to an outfit—they make or break it. I love lamps (I love shoes, too, but that’s another story). I’ve even been known to carry them back from foreign lands, like the Fontana Arte wonder that I lusted after for ten years and finally bought in Milan. My 350-square-foot studio has lamps in every corner and two hanging from the ceiling. But I’d never been able to find the right lamp for my bathroom. Until I went to the new Luceplan store. When the Soho showroom opened six years ago, it was packed with tempting modernist fixtures, but it was to-the-trade only. Not an architect or designer? Not for you. Now an expanded 2,500-square-foot Spazio Luceplan (315 Hudson Street; 212-989-6265) is open to all. More than 30 lamps are on display; most are in stock. There’s no gold or crystal in sight—just gorgeous, sculptural steel-and-glass pieces by Alberto Meda, Paolo Rizzatto, and Ross Lovegrove—and the coolest, most colorful lighted ceiling fan I’ve ever seen. Prices are from $185 to $1,100.

For my bathroom, I chose the Starled, a sexy, candlelike lamp ($185). It wasn’t cheap, but then, neither were my favorite shoes.

Related:

• Archive: “Shop Talk”
• Articles by Rima Suqi
• Table of Contents: Jul 28, 2003 issue of New York | Subscribe!