Slippery Rock Gazette

Crossville’s tile and countertop collections prove to be the ideal surfacing solutions for this West Hollywood lighting showroom. The range of porcelain tile looks play a superb supporting role that lets the illumination have the spotlight.

While some may know Hollywood for the kind of lights that display celebrities’ names, the interior design community knows West Hollywood for the stunning lights offered at the Circa Lighting showroom. Circa Lighting’s West Hollywood location is the west coast’s premier resource for Visual Comfort, Tech Lighting, and Monte Carlo Fans.

Circa’s target audience is comprised of luminaries in the world of interior design. Because of this, the Circa team knows it’s imperative that the West Hollywood showroom always be updated and ready for its close-ups. Discerning interior designers, homeowners, and decision-makers frequently cross the threshold, expecting to be wowed with options and inspired by the ambiance of the space.

The showroom’s most recent remodel was about much more than simply refreshing the interior decor and displays. The extensive renovation encompassed the expansive 4,800+ square foot first floor, as well as the 2,400 square foot mezzanine. The visionaries who planned the update, including Circa’s leadership and designers with Houston-based Rudy Colby of Colby Design, focused on function and fashion from the inside out—not only demolishing existing finishes and walls, but also replacing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.

Additionally, this renovation allowed the Circa team to go beyond by designing entirely new displays and areas for interaction to best show off their numerous product lines. The focus on product display serves to offer showroom visitors an immersive experience to see lighting products in use and be able to easily visualize how those pieces could be added to their own spaces. The addition of coffee bars, a living lighting lab, and numerous workspaces were included to deepen engagement with the southern California clientele and encourage customers to  work on projects or just “hang out.” 

These new approaches for product presentation and customer connections come to life on the backdrop of a completely re-imagined, modern interior design.

No detail was overlooked in achieving the innovative interiors and experience of the showroom. The team focused much attention on the selection of surfacing materials, as these materials have such an impact on the overall feel of spaces for which the lighting is the focal point. To get all the best solutions, the design team turned to Crossville, choosing a curated mix of Crossville tile and porcelain countertop collections for installation throughout the showroom. With Crossville’s simple selection support and reliable product delivery, the Circa team had ready access to a full range of brilliant options for the time-sensitive renovation.

For the first and second floor coffee bars, Crossville’s State of Grace marble-look porcelain countertop collection makes a bold statement for the counters and backsplashes. With gentle stone veining of grays with delicate, subtle touches of black and brown tones, State of Grace is a durable porcelain tile alternative to true marble that offers easy maintenance and eliminates worries of staining and chipping that are common when using the natural stone. Crossville’s porcelain countertop material, fabricated for a 2-inch thick appearance and offered in large slab sizes, was installed with a squared-eased edge for a contemporary style in the traditional look of marble. The backsplash, also in State of Grace, provides seamless beauty that blends from the countertops to the walls and maintains the easy clean-up from potentially staining and etching coffee splashes.

A first-floor main display island countertop also is fabricated with the square-eased edge countertop material that waterfalls to the floor on two sides. The team chose the unpolished finish of State of Grace to help decrease light reflection and showcase the lighting fixtures as the main selling point in the space.

In addition to the main display island, the team constructed two 4-foot by 4-foot lamp station tops and chose Crossville porcelain countertops in the solid white, unpolished Sugar Coat, again with the square-eased edge. The pure white surface allows the lamps on display to truly shine as the focal points.

A unique feature of Circa’s premier West Hollywood location is the second floor lighting lab featuring a built-in cabinet space with recessed lighting options from counter height to ceiling, so customers can easily see the various lighting capabilities. The design team chose the solid white Sugar Coat countertops in an unpolished finish with no backsplash for this area. The clean lines allow customers to fully view the lighting options without any design distractions.

For the restrooms, subway tile in Retro Active 2.0’s Snow Blind color wainscots the walls in a sleek, horizontal soldier-stacked installation. Because Retro Active 2.0 collection is a through-body tile, the team did not have to worry about color issues on the edging  and were able to achieve a modern square edge to the wainscoting that offered a chic, industrial look. The crisp white tile on the walls blends with flooring in Ready to Wear’s Flannel Suit, creating a classic, fabric appearance underfoot and rounding out the spaces in dapper style.

Crossville’s prominent role in the story of Circa’s West Hollywood showroom earns rave reviews with staff and clients alike and helps to make the entire experience totally star quality.

Circa Lighting West Hollywood, Property Owner: Abraham Moradzadeh
Designer: Rudy Colby
Colby Design, Houston, Texas
Local Architect:
Tim Sullivan
Scrafano Architects
Contractor: Howard CDM