Venice’s David and Robyn Deakin are building a portfolio of businesses as strikingly beautiful as their young family. Parents to Brooklyn, 3, and brand new baby Kayla, the couple began Venice Lighting & Fan on Colonia Lane six years ago. They expanded to a two-story, 9000 sq. ft. Nokomis Tamiami Trail location while retaining their original location, and have just opened a third location at University Town Center.
As their success has grown, so have their business concepts. Today, their original location is the Venice Lighting Outlet, where home décor shoppers can find a vast selection of more affordable items. Their larger store on the Trail is the Venice Lighting & Fan Design Showroom, where their higher-end items and furnishings are displayed, and their UTC location showcases their Coastal Serenity Design brand, dedicated to on-trend and fashionable interior design.
“Robyn and I do all of the buying and the merchandising together,” David says. “She is more artsy than me, so she tends to work on the buying side of things, finding all of the gorgeous décor we have. My parents owned an electrician business and I grew up around electrical work. So I like the technical side of lighting, offering customers the cutting edge in controls.”
When a customer walks into the Venice Lighting & Fan Design Studio, they will see thousands of gorgeous lights and fans, a nearly limitless variety. An outdoor lighting section offers options for landscape and lanai lighting. Lighting designers are on hand to help customers navigate the many options and make their selections. The Coastal Serenity Design brand—featured at UTC—is also available at the main Venice showroom’s second floor, featuring fine furnishings, upholstered sofas, chairs, and sectionals, many completely custom. Coastal Serenity Design also offers artwork, rugs, window treatments, and a wide variety of other accessories.
“People know our lighting, but we also have everything else you need to furnish a house, including interior designers to help with the selections,” David says. “We can really help you with all your lighting and furnishing needs. Our main focus is on customer service. Anyone can buy a light or sofa online. Our real advantage is that we have lighting and interior designers both, depending on the client’s needs, to help you make the perfect selection.”
Across their three stores, the Deakins have 18 employees, including skilled designers with international experience and expert installers. And while Robyn is currently spending time at home with their children, David can still often be found on the showroom floor, helping customers personally.
“The most fun I have in the business is helping someone find the right piece,” he explains. “We work closely with our clients for awhile and really get to know them. Then we go to their home and see their spaces so we can make suggestions and help them through the completion of their project. After everything is installed and finished, the very best feeling is when the customer tells us, ‘That was the perfect light and I love the look of the room. The light makes my whole room.’ People don’t see all the hours that go into planning a room. The hours and hours it takes to get it right. So that feedback feels really great. I love hearing, ‘Wow, I love it!’”
Robyn says that people don’t always realize the importance of fine lighting, or updating old lighting.
“People think of lighting after the fact, but it sits in the center of your room and really is the focus,” she says. “If you have a nice dining room set but 20-year-old lighting that the builder put in there that doesn’t match anything else, the beauty of the dining set gets lost. When you upgrade to a spectacular, new light, everyone notices and your home becomes a conversation piece. When your neighbors envy your interior spaces and lights, we know we have done our job.”
Always on trend and always finding the best, new products, the Deakins take pride in their businesses and the lighting and interior décor they offer.
“We treat our customers like family,” David says. “We always go that extra mile for them.”
Venice Lighting & Fan Design Showroom. 909 S. Tamiami Trail, Nokomis. 941.484.4205. Venicelightingcompany.com.
