Taken in by a pretty picture

I immediately fell for this lantern cluster ... and then took a closer look at the company's track record.

This post is going to be short because I’m moving in four days. The home we are moving into has many advantages (and a few disadvantages) over the beloved rental we’ve had for two years here in San Pedro.

One advantage: The master bedroom in the new home is oversized, perfect for adding a sitting/reading area or my office.

One disadvantage: The room has no built-in overhead lighting.

So I started my hunt for pretty overhead lighting, with bonus points added if the fixture is available as a plug-in.

My search started off with a bang, with this:

This cluster of fabric-covered lanterns is called “Japanese Restaurant Lighting” and I immediately fell for it. Until I read the reviews. (Photo: Lighting-Forest)

It’s just one of the company’s many fixtures that are made essentially by clustering lanterns of various shapes and sizes. And yes, it does capture the ambiance of a well-designed restaurant. Each light fixture cost around $200, so not a cheap endeavor. But how pretty! How unique! As soon as I confirmed that the options included a plug-in pendant, I was eager to share it here with you.

Then I happened to glance at one of my search threads, which contained words like “never again” and “don’t buy from this company.” I had to look at what other people were saying about Lighting-Forest.

Sadly, we all know the drill

Most of it was pretty negative. Apparently these lanterns in reality (and other light fixtures supposedly manufactured by the company) are made with synthetic fabric and often arrive in a different size or shape than what was ordered.

But even worse, attempts to return the merchandise were met with a demand for shipping charges to China that were up to $100. It’s beyond insane. The company instead offers $20 credits toward another purchase. And so the loop, the waste, and the frustration go on.

The reviews shown on the product page are actually quite positive, and some of them even show photos of the product arriving “as ordered” in its box. It’s definitely not a black-and-white situation. Every purchase decision we make online is fraught. Many U.S. consumers will point a finger at international companies as causing the bulk of the problems, but in reality scamming and poor quality merchandise know no borders. It’s just a little easier, most of the time, to battle it out with a company in your own country.

You can’t just hit “submit order” anymore

There are a lot of troubling things going on right now with online buying and selling. Problems include: receiving products that literally are NOT the same products in the photos; the inability to contact customer service; no refunds given; high return shipping costs; and shoddy product quality.

The wildly fluctuating tariff situation and the end of the “de minimus” rule allowing overseas products to be shipped with no import fees if the value was $800 or less has made it really difficult to understand the amount you will be paying in the end. So for now, I decided to feature a few ideas from domestic lighting designers and makers (or at least, they are shipped from a U.S. fulfilment house to you). All but one of these are hard-wire connect.

Here they are:

Rosehill by Aerin | Visual Comfort & Co.

Sutter Pendant | McGee & Co.

Dyana by Schonbek

And finally, my favorite plug-in pendant of all time: the Capiz Flower Pendant

The Capiz Flower Pendant by Pottery Barn

Here is the Capiz Flower in a shed we designed for a children’s book author in 2021. Loved it then, love it still. (Photo: Velvet Chaise)

Maybe you’ll be seeing this in my new bedroom. And if you’ve ever made a great lighting discovery that was domestically sourced I’d love to hear about it.

Be careful out there!