Fantasia

Who is Fantasia?

Fantasia is a Belgian family business that has been designing and producing decorative lighting since 1952. It started as Lustrerie Fantasia; today the company is located on the Torhoutsesteenweg in Ostend. Fantasia says it designs and develops its products in Belgium, and the range includes more than 2,500 items. Its slogan is Light for everyone: good design lighting for professionals and private customers. According to the company, the guarantee applies to current and older product lines, and it focuses on repair and reuse.

What is the difference between Fantasia Deco and Premium?

Fantasia divides its range into two collections:

• Deco is lighting that is ready to install: you buy a light and hang it up. In our range, these include the Oonah, Oryx and Taboo lights.
• Premium is design lighting that you can personalise. You build a spotlight or ceiling light from a fixture with separate shades, inserts, lenses or honeycomb filters. Examples in our range are Nysit, Lopal, Orbit, Xandar and the Micro Line and Infinitus track systems.

That explains why about 300 of the Fantasia products we stock are components: a replacement lens of 10, 20, 36 or 60 degrees for an Orbit spotlight, a separate shade for a Xandar, a set of insert rings for a Zoom recessed spotlight. With a narrower lens, the same spotlight becomes an accent light on a painting; with a wide lens, it becomes general lighting.

What is Fantasia strong in?

Spotlights. Of the almost 1,700 Fantasia products we stock, over 330 are spotlights and over 200 are recessed spotlights and rings, and of the over 280 ceiling lights, around 170 work with a GU10 bulb. On top of that, there are over 120 components for track lighting, around 270 pendant lights, over 130 wall lights and over 100 outdoor lights, most of which are IP65. Half of all Fantasia products cost less than €60; a single spotlight usually costs around €40.

What should you look out for with Fantasia spotlights?

With a recessed spotlight, the cut-out size comes first. Fantasia puts it in the name of some models: cut-out 80 mm on several Zoom spotlights, or for the Tetiz an outer size of 85 mm and a cut-out of 75 mm. Always measure an existing hole before you choose a replacement; a few millimetres too big and the rim no longer covers the hole. Also consider the recessed depth above the ceiling, especially with a spotlight that has a driver or a deep GU10 bulb.

Then check whether the bulb is included. Over 100 Fantasia products have excl. or excl. lichtbron in the name: in that case you buy the fixture and choose a GU10, E27 or G9 bulb yourself. Spotlights with built-in LED, such as Lopal and Oyo, usually give 2700 or 3000 K at Fantasia. If you are planning a ceiling full of spotlights, work out the number and spacing with the spotlight calculator or read planning spotlights first.

Which track and which spotlight go together?

Fantasia has several track systems side by side: Track in 1-phase and 3-phase, the small Micro Line (also as a trimless recessed profile that disappears neatly into the ceiling) and the Infinitus profile. A spotlight only fits the system it was made for. With Track, you also choose a single-phase or a three-phase adapter, depending on the track. So order the track, power supply, connectors and spotlights from the same line. The difference between 1-phase and 3-phase is explained in track lighting explained.

Fantasia pendant lights: from €44 to well over €500

Among the pendant lights there are two kinds. The affordable side has a lamp base: Taboo with GU10 or E27, Kono with a conical shade and E27, Osira with clear glass. The more expensive side has built-in, dimmable LEDs in large shapes: Pure as a long line of light, Guri up to 240 cm, Annu as a ring up to 120 cm and Boa as a spiral. They all give 3000 K, and the luminous flux ranges from about 1,000 lumens for a short line of light to over 6,000 lumens for the largest rings and spirals. So compare the lumens of the version you choose: two lights from the same line can differ by a factor of three. How high and how wide a light should hang above a table is explained in pendant light above the dining table.