Luminaire shines its light in L.A.
Luminaire has finally made it to L.A.
Cutting-edge interior design retailer Luminaire has unveiled a gleaming 21,000square-foot showroom among other major design brand names on Beverly Boulevard. But unlike the other bricks-and-mortar flagships on this West Hollywood-adjacent stretch that largely trade in single manufacturers, “I curate and edit everything that’s shown here,” founder Nasir Kassamali says. He and his wife, Nargis, have made Luminaire a premier resource by championing and culling from a range of internationally-known companies, designers and artists that encompasses both the iconic and lesser known.
This ambitious project is part of Luminaire’s planned expansion outside of Miami and Chicago. Features specific to the Beverly Boulevard outpost include the new line of contemporary kitchens Luminaire designed for Italian maker Minimal, and select pieces from Brazilian designer Jader Almeida’s Sollos furniture collection.
Los Angeles firm Make Architecture designed the overhal of the two-story building, which was previously the Antiquarius Center fine jewelry mart, placing a dramatic sculptural steel staircase in the center of the interior. (Italian furniture company Poltrona Frau’s new showroom is next door.)
Here, Luminaire has room to create full-scale residential environments, from the aforementioned kitchens as well as bathrooms, to the luxurious, meticulously planned closet storage systems, a collaboration between Kassamali and legendary designer Piero Lissoni. Even the mannequins were custom made to be posed in various vignettes throughout the showroom.
Originally from Kenya, Kassamali is passionate about his vision, which he explains came to him in a dream when he was a teenager. His design and retail work began in earnest in 1974, when the couple opened the first modestly-sized Luminaire in Miami.
“We are not a furniture store. We create environments that affect and improve people’s lives,” Kassamali says. He has continually prioritized introducing brands and creative talent to U.S. audiences, while putting together a team of design professionals and architects whose “single mission is to increase awareness” of how design influences the way their clients live.
As for why Kassamali chose to set Luminaire’s next chapter in Los Angeles, “it’s not pretentious, and it’s true to itself,” he observes about the city. “I care more about people who are curious. You can find many things happening in L.A. that normally don’t happen in other American cities. The single reason is they’re willing to try.”