University Lights

This lovely local shop not only sells beautiful high end lighting at excellent prices, they will also carefully repair your own lamps in a very timely manner. I recently had my third lamp repaired at this shop and it was my best experience yet. Kirk took the time to explain exactly what they had done and helped me switch to an energy efficient lightbulb, which he then kindly discounted! If you need help navigating the new rules about lightbulbs without sacrificing ambience, this is your place. Don’t throw away that old lamp you love because it’s not working. Bring it in to this shop and support a local business at the same time. That’s a win-win. Thanks again Kirk!

Next time I am in the market for lights or fans, I shall certainly check here. Brian has impressed me with his knowledge especially of the industry standard Hunter Original ceiling fan. Great brick and mortar showroom!

Kirk was awesome! This review is very overdue, but i was waiting until i had some better photos to post. We renovated our entire house and needed new lighting for most rooms including bathrooms, bedrooms, dining room, hallways and kitchen.

Kirk was very patient, not pushy and sat with us to look through many magazines and hundreds, if not thousands of light fixtures to make sure our selections were complementary.

He made the whole process painless and gave us better deals than anywhere we could find (I price check everything.)

They are a family run business- honest, local and hardworking. Couldn’t recommend them more!

(have both before and after photos below)

Kirk and the team at University Lights were AMAZING to work with. I own a local brewery, and we've been struggling for years with the negative effect our lighting had on our ambience. We showed up at University Lights with a very vague idea of how we wanted the feeling of our space to change and a very modest budget with which to accomplish it. Kirk jumped right on the project, and even came out to our taproom several times to consult. He helped us find the best valued products to get the job done and was very thoughtful about each piece. It's very hard to capture in photos just how much better our space feels with our new lights installed, but I can't say enough good things about it. It has improved the feel of the space dramatically, especially after dark. It was well worth the (modest) investment, and I know for a fact that the University Lights team saved us thousands of dollars as compared to hiring a designer and ordering through a larger retailer.

My brewery is called The Glass Jug, and they did our location on Hwy 55 in Durham, if you want to see an example of their work in person.

We used University Lights to supply all our lighting and fan needs for the new home we just completed. The service was great! Our sales person, Kirk, was super helpful. The prices were great. Forget the junk you find at the big box stores! I strongly recommend University Lights.

See that 'GLOBE light' behind the red chair. "Universal Lights" looked at this very old lamp post and said, "lets see what we can do". Jake spotted this wonderful glass globe in the back, and i knew this is what i wanted. I wondered if this could be done. Well they really exceeded what i thought they would do. All this was done in 3 days or so,and quite professionally.
They were as happy as i was with their engineering feat (but oh so simple and cool. I just love it. Many thanks. They are fun, professional and the price was fair. Thank you so much.

Kirk and the University Lights Team were fantastic. They helped design a lighting solution, identified the best fixtures, and recommended a terrific electrician. Kirk was very accommodating and provided modifications during installation. Highly recommended and trusted.

Great experience with Kirk and Jay. Love our new lights and fans. Really appreciated how much they stood by their products and us during the whole process.

The folks here are amazing. So helpful, kind and patient as we went back and forth on our decisions. Love that it’s a family business- their 3rd generation, Kirk, helped us immensely. Prices were good as well. Quality way above hardware stores!

Great prices and selection's. Go and brows and of your interested make an appointment so you don't make any mistakes. Love the wood grain on this fan.

I've worked with the people at University Lights often over the years. For our most recent home, Emily was relentless in looking for replacement crystals for a chandelier and a "just right" ceiling fixture for the kitchen; and Jay was gracious in replacing a screened porch fan that had a defect toward the end of the first year. He replaced it with one that was a better fan and in stock in the store -- a great benefit to us since we enjoy the porch nearly daily and would have very frustrated to have to wait for ordering, supply chain issues, etc. Many thanks to you all!!!

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR!!
I will admit that I typically only give a review when I’m unhappy with a product or service. In this case, I felt a need to go online to brag about University Lights and give them the recognition they so rightly deserve!

My husband is an architect and needless to say when it came to lighting, we had numerous resources available to us online. However, I’m a visual person and University Lights has a great showroom of traditional AND contemporary lighting (which is what we wanted). They also had catalogs of every brand on the market at your fingertips. They spent HOURS with me to help me pick out every light and fan for our house! Not only did they match my prices but when we had a couple of issues with the product, they contacted the manufacturers and made everything right on my behalf. They treated me like family every time I walked in and their product knowledge was critical. I would have made NUMEROUS mistakes ordering these lights online and would never have known what was available to me without their guidance. We built a new home and filled the entire house with lights from University Lights! Their attention to detail and customer commitment is a breath of fresh air! They are local and they are awesome! I will never go anywhere else for lighting issues in the future.

Adrian, Kirk and Kevin were all great to work with and had very high professionalism and courtesy. They replaced every light in my house and it all came out looking great and was fairly priced. They recommended a professional, reasonably priced electrician to install everything. I really can't say enough good things about their products and their service.

Excellent products, and outstanding customer service. Our light fixture failed after three years, and they were able to track down the manufactures warranty and order the replacement parts under warranty. During this process we discovered that we had paid about $300 more for the fixture from here then if we had purchased it online. But because of the customer service and they provided, I am happy to have paid the difference do you have the benefits of the knowledge and expertise . Without that, I would probably have to spend yet another thousand dollars to replace the fixture itself. Good people to deal with.!

My husband and I have used University Lights for three renovation projects so far, and we intend to return for more. All the products we’ve purchased from them are quality products, and they always go out of their way to help us achieve the results we want. The first time I visited the store they gave me a thick catalog to take home with me, and we have been using it for our product selection ever since. One time we needed a ceiling light to go with a collection that was not in their catalog, and they obtained it for us anyway. Recently we purchased a vanity light fixture that was not as bright as we expected, so Kirk patiently did everything he could to help us find alternative bulbs. We ended up replacing the light (with another beautiful light from University Lights, of course), and Kirk arranged for us to get partially reimbursed for the original light, even though it was no longer in the original box. The staff as University Lights will go beyond standard procedures to accommodate their customers and insure their satisfaction.

Outstanding service! Kirk guided us through fixture selection, track lighting design, and several rounds of trying out new light bulbs. Through every step, he was friendly, helpful and patient. He made the whole process much easier than it could have been. We highly recommend working with Kirk at University Lights.

I have taken several lamps for repair to this store and bought special light bulbs there. Service has always been helpful and friendly. Repairs are ready quickly. However, yesterday the service I received was above and beyond. I brought in a favorite floor lamp that had stopped working. He carried it in from my car, spent a few minutes determining the problem, took it in the back for about ten minutes to make the repair, and charged me nothing! I am was impressed by this level of courtesy and kindness that I had to write a review. Thank you, University Lights!

This is the best lighting store I have ever been to. The staff here are very pleasant, polite, and knowledgeable. They made me feel right at home. They are such great people to deal with; very attentive to detail, and their knowledge in design is truly one-of-a-kind. All around great lighting and fan selections. I definitely recommend them for any lighting needs.

University Lights is a wonderful resource. The expertise of Jay, Kirk, Natalie, and Adrian is unmatched. They know the details, are completely familiar with the huge array of today’s lighting products, and have creative solutions to tricky lighting needs including repair. In addition the pricing seems fair. It’s pleasure working w these friendly folks who look for solutions. I highly recommend this lighting store.

For years, University Lights in Durham has been my go to for all electric needs: indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, etc. I cannot say enough good things about Kirk Chandler, the rest of the staff, and products. Not only do I get exemplary service but they stand behind their products. So easy to work with these friendly folks!