Coventry Lighting hopes to shine at new location

The store specializes in designing lighting for newhomes, a process that cantake many hours.
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
CANFIELD -- After 13 years doing business in the Hilltop Village Plaza on Boardman-Canfield Road, Coventry Lighting is getting set to light up another Canfield corner with a new expanded retail store.
This week, construction crews began clearing the store's new site next to Do Cut True Value in the 6400 block of South Raccoon Road. Plans are to have the 12,000-square-foot store ready for business in July, with a grand opening to be scheduled in August.
David Kiraly & amp; Assoc., Boardman architects, designed the new lighting center, and Caldora Lighting Design, a Miami, Fla., retail design specialist, is designing the showroom. The project cost is estimated at between $600,000 and $700,000.
Owner Rita Santon said the store plan includes a section devoted to Tiffany lighting designs and a crystal showcase featuring a wide assortment of crystal chandeliers and fixtures.
Landscape lighting: She's also including a landscape lighting lab, where customers can experiment with different exterior lighting techniques. Coventry has a landscape lighting specialist on staff who makes house calls so a customer can try out exterior lighting options on his own home before buying.
Landscape lighting is a fast-growing market, Santon said. The average consumers spend between $1,000 and $1,500 to illuminate the outside of their houses and their landscaping.
The extra retail space will allow the store to expand its inventory of decorative ceiling, wall and table light fixtures, lamps, mirrors, wall and table decor items and furniture. Lights will be displayed in collections or groupings with other, coordinated decor items.
A Cleveland native, Santon was employed as a registered nurse at the Cleveland Clinic when she met and married her husband Dan "Bud" Santon.
She started working at Coventry Lighting in 1990 when the couple moved to the area -- he is an electrical engineer with his father's company, Santon Electric in Boardman. "People are surprised when they hear about my nursing background," she said, "But actually, they're both people professions. I'm just helping people in different ways."
Creative pleasure: She especially enjoys the design aspect of her work, sitting down with a new home owner and helping to select the lights and coordinating accessories for every room in their new house. The process can take several hours and is usually done in more than one session, she said.
The store staff also assists longtime homeowners who are redecorating or looking for a unique accent. "We can make any budget work," Santon said.
The Valley's continuing residential building boom has been good news for Coventry Lighting, she said. While other retail businesses saw their sales plummet in the wake of Sept. 11, most contractors and related businesses have continued strong because of low interest rates.
Consumer interest in home decorating is also on the rise, Santon said, fueled by popular decorating magazines and television programs.
"It's amazing how people are really paying close attention to accessorizing their homes," she said. "They weren't doing that 10 years ago."
vinarsky@vindy.com