Lightovation Summer Edition Recap

From the 17^th annual Showroom of the Year Awards and enthusiastic welcome for AD100 designer Corey Damen Jenkins to a standout Design + Build Day, DMC reports a successful show.  

The summer edition of Lightovation, North America’s largest residential lighting show, returned to Dallas Market Center June 24–27, bringing together retailers, interior designers, architects, builders, and industry professionals to discover new products and explore the latest trends across every category of lighting.

The show also included Design + Build Day, which featured a full day of programming dedicated to innovation, education, and connection for architects, builders, designers, and other trade professionals, as well as the lighting retail showrooms building business with these customers. The Lighting One Convention also preceded Lightovation and hosted peer networking sessions and major vendor partner meetings.

“This June was a powerful reminder of why Dallas is the home of lighting, and Lightovation continues to stand in a class of its own,” said President and CEO of Dallas Market Center Cindy Morris. “The education and inspiration were unmatched as the industry gathered to connect and review what’s new across the marketplace.”

Among the new brands debuting at Lightovation were Les Jardins Lighting (TM 4926-5), Modern Mirrors (TM 4432-22), and Snowball Inc. (TM 4432-16). Relocated exhibitors included InStyle Gallery (TM 4311) and Terracotta Designs (TM 3920).

On the heels of Lib & Co.’s major relocation and expansion in January, President Tony Zitoli remarked, “Lightovation delivered meaningful value for Lib & Co., particularly through the opportunity to connect with new customers from international markets. These new relationships are an encouraging sign of continued global interest and growth potential. Equally important was the strong presence of our existing customers who attended the show — their engagement, support, and continued partnership played a key role in making our overall experience a success and reinforced the strength of our current market relationships.”

Design + Build Day

Dallas Market Center continued its popular Design + Build Day preceding Lightovation on Tuesday, June 23. Produced in partnership with media sponsors Business of Home and Custom Builder, the day featured CEU-accredited panels, guided showroom tours, and networking opportunities with some of the design industry’s most recognized voices.

These included:

• “Collaboration Wins & Costly Mistakes: An Architect, Builder and Designer in Conversation,” moderated by Custom Builder’s Head of Content Pauline Hammerbeck.

• “Women Who Build” Lunch & Learn, hosted by Buster + Punch in the International Pavilion and moderated by Nikki Watson, founder of The Design Quad.

• “Becoming the Builder’s Designer,” presented by Business of Home and moderated by Editor-in-Chief Kaitlin Petersen, with panelists including acclaimed designers Corey Damen Jenkins, Alison Giese, and Erin Sander.

• A closing reception at Eichholtz (TM 3321) celebrating AD100 designer Corey Damen Jenkins’ new lighting line for the brand, where Jenkins signed complimentary copies of his book Design Reimagined for the first 100 guests.

Lightovation programming

Programming during Lightovation was equally strong, emphasizing timely topics that also offered CEU accreditation, some of which were HSW-certified.

Among the highlights:

• “What Great Lighting Looks Like Now” featured expert speakers from the upcoming ArchLIGHT Summit like Jason Livingston, Craig Bernecker, Julia Gordon, and Leigh Gice in a discussion led by ArchLIGHT Summit Education Director C. Webster Marsh.

• “Global Lifestyle and Lighting Insights & Influences” with Maison & Objet Global Trend Ambassador Patti Carpenter, identifying the trends shaping design in 2027 and beyond, followed by a tour of resources exemplifying these trends.

• “Proven Strategies for Tapping Into the Remodeling Trend” panel moderated by Linda Longo, editor-in-chief of Lighting News Now, with insights from Leslie Killingsworth, Jay Schneider, and Gabriel Trinidad.

• “Living Lighting Indoors & Out: Static vs Dynamic” with Tim Ryan, Emily Gorecki, and Wes Jackson, a session and tour that commemorated Lightovation’s Exteriorscape display, which was expanded in June to include products from Kichler.

Showroom of the Year Awards

The 17^th annual Showroom of the Year Award ceremony took place during Lightovation, produced by Dallas Market Center and official media sponsor Linda Longo, editor-in-chief of Lighting News Now.

The ceremony, hosted by Longo and Dallas Market Center’s vice president of marketing for Lightovation Laura Van Zeyl, honored one Showroom of the Year winner in each of three dollar-volume categories, along with specialty awards recognizing Outstanding Merchandising Display, Exceptional Community Involvement, and Showroom of the Future.

“It is our privilege to recognize the innovation and inspiration within the retail lighting showroom channel, which remains the core audience and focus of Lightovation even as show attendance has expanded to include others for whom lighting is also important,” said Van Zeyl.

See the 2026 Showroom of the Year award winners here.

Looking ahead

The next edition of Lightovation continues its traditional date pattern of Wednesday to Saturday. The opening day will be Wednesday, January 6, and the show will close at 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 9. Design + Build Day will precede Lightovation on Tuesday, January 5. The Total Home & Gift Market will run concurrently, January 6-12. Registration information is available here.

In addition, the January 2028 show dates have been announced, with Lightovation running January 19-22 and the Total Home & Gift Market running January 18-24 in 2028.

This fall, Dallas Market Center will host the sixth annual ArchLIGHT Summit, the trade event and educational platform for architectural and commercial lighting and design professionals, takes place September 15-16. More information on ArchLIGHT Summit is available here.

Related articles

The June Lightovation Vibe

New Showrooms at June Lightovation